Thu May 7, 2009 2:40 pm (PDT)
Montana Slaughter Law Could Face Challenges
by: Pat Raia
May 06 2009, Article # 14112
A new Montana state law invites private investors to develop horse slaughter facilities in that state. But opponents say compliance and court challenges might discourage prospective investors from ever breaking ground on plant projects.
HB 418 insulates plant developers from permit and licensing challenges on environmental and other grounds, and awards attorney and court fees to plaintiffs in cases District Courts deem harassing or without merit. It automatically became law last Friday after Gov. Brian Schweitzer declined to sign or veto it 10 days after it reached his desk (read more).
Nancy Perry, vice president of Government Affairs for the Humane Society of the United States, said the legislation could be challenged because it removes Montana citizens' right to to sue plant developers in state courts.
There are also some concerns with food safety compliance issues. All meat processing plants in the United States are subject to USDA regulation and product inspection, said Amanda Eamich, spokesperson for the agency's Food Inspection Service. But congress previously stripped the USDA's funding for horse processing plant inspections.
"U.S. law prohibits the funding of inspectors for the regulation of horse slaughter," Eamich said. "Without the federal inspections, they couldn't get the meat out of state or out of the country."
HB 418 sponsor Rep. Ed Butcher argued that since meat processed in Montana would be destined for European markets, plant owners could employ European Union personnel to regulate the plants and conduct product inspections.
"Then inspection challenges would go to the world trade court," Butcher explained.
He also disagrees that the law is unconstitutional.
"Courts have the right to offer an opinion about legislation--they do not have the right to make law. That's the legislature's job," he said.

DawnWatch: NY Times and Sports Illustrated on racing horse abuse and slaughter 5/1/09
The New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden has become a champion of race horses, covering the racing industry time and again from the standpoint of the harm it does the animals. His column today discusses horse slaughter. Before I write more about that column I want to call attention to a piece in the April 20 edition of Sports Illustrated. That magazine has not been traditionally known for its coverage of animal welfare issues, but it won a Genesis Award recently for its outstanding cover story, in December, on the Vick pitbulls. How wonderful to see the magazine focus on the neglect of racing horses in an article, by Mark Beech, headed "Breeding Neglect: A prominent owner is charged with animal cruelty."

Beech discusses the sad state of the horses belonging to Ernie Paragallo, who until now had a good reputation in the racing industry. It tells us:
"Last month an equine rescue organization found four undernourished horses owned by Paragallo in a New York kill pen, the final stop before the slaughterhouse."

You'll find the article on line at: http://tinyurl.com/c6paa8

With the Kentucky Derby coming up this weekend it is the perfect time to send off a letter to the editor thanking Sports Illustrated for another story focusing on animal cruelty issues, and sharing your own take on horseracing. The magazine takes letter at letters@SI.timeinc.com . My thanks go to Andrew Umphries for making sure we knew about the piece.

"But in-competition breakdowns, dramatic as they are, account for only a fraction of the total deaths generated by the industry. The most significant source of racehorse deaths is the slaughter industry, one driven by overbreeding and demand from the lucrative global meat market. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, more than 100,000 American horses are slaughtered each year in Canada and Mexico to satisfy horse meat markets in Europe and Asia. "

Forward it to your friends, especially those watching the Kentucky Derby this weekend.

The article offers a perfect opportunity for letters to the editor about the abuse of animals for human entertainment. Send them toletters@nytimes.com

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts athttp://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews and see a fun celeb-studded video and an NBC news piece on Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals," which was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the "Best Books of 2008."

Please send out to your lists and cross post. There's a petition to keep horse slaughter out of MT: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/319413487 . They are trying to get 1000 signatures, but so far there are just under 150. (note from Brandi: When I signed the petition, there were over 400 signatures. Yeah!!! Keep it up!)

The Horse Welfare Coalition (is an alliance of veterinary, horse-industry and agricultural groups ( that are a part of The Evil Empire they are the enemy) representing over 500,000 individual members in the United States. Who's mission is to promote the breeding and slaughter of horses and keep the breeding for slaughter markets open. Make every effort to keep this billion dollar industry operating, fight to keep the export of horses for slaughter and lobby to reopen slaughter plants in the United States.

Their words .........“We must be responsible to show a good public image of the horse through propagator, lobby and policy advocacy. Members of our Coalition represent the leading horse breeding factories and foreign horse meat corporations.”

The Horse Welfare Coalition is opposed to H.R503 and HR1018. They breed horses for Slaughter that is where they make their Money $$$.

This is a Statement from The Horse Welfare Coalition to its Membership. “'H.R. 503 Is Not Best For Any Horse. The time is now for American Quarter Horse owners to stand up and be counted. Animal rights groups and wealthy, misguided horse interests are trying to pass legislation that will be detrimental to the welfare of our horses as well as the health of the entire horse industry. We must contact our members of Congress tell them to OPPOSE HR 503.”

Stop the export of US horses and their senseless, barbaric slaughter.

As you are aware, nearly 400,000 U.S. horses were exported for slaughter last year. On the way to the slaughter houses, they are made to endure tremendous suffering and many die before reaching the slaughter house. Perhaps they are the fortunate ones because the fate that awaits those who survive is barbaric, cruel, inhumane. It reflects the worst in human nature. Most are butchered while still alive! This must stop! Please make certain that HR503 and HR1018 passes in this secession of Congress write your Representative ask them to cosponsor HR503 and HR1018

Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:00 pm (PDT)
----- Original Message -----
From: GlacierLake
The True Economics of Horse Slaughter http://www.horsebackmagazine.com/breakingnews.htm
From Caroline M। Betts, Economist, USC
Letter to the Editor
Dear Horseback Readers,
I feel compelled to respond to the rash of state efforts (Montana, Illinois, and North Dakota to name just a few) to re-introduce the slaughter of horses in the United States of America. As a professional economist, I find the arguments spouted nationwide to re-invite foreign owned horse killing facilities onto American soil confusing and without merit.
To paraphrase a horse rescuer I know, why is it that upon the observation of an abandoned dog or cat, people jump up and down to preserve the life of that animal, while upon the observation of an abandoned horse, some politician jumps up and down and yells that we need to slit its throat and bleed it out on American soil so that a wealthy connoisseur in Europe or Asia can have a nice horsemeat snack?
According to USDA data, approximately 20 percent more American horses are being exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter now than were being slaughtered in the US prior to the closure of the foreign owned slaughterhouses in 2007. It is clear that the option to slaughter is readily available: you simply drop off your horse at the nearest auction or make a quick call to the local “kill buyer” and he will be dispatched through the pipeline to a foreign owned slaughter house in one of our NAFTA partners. Any abandoned horse, one would have to presume, is abandoned NOT because there are no slaughter plants in the US. To add to my confusion, there is nothing but anecdotal evidence that horses are being abandoned at a higher rate now than before the closure of the US slaughter plants, and that is because no better data exists: there is no data collected at the state or national level on horse abandonment or neglect. Even if a
single year’s observation were available, which it is not, it would not constitute a sample that any statistician would take seriously. And the few independent scientific studies that have been conducted over the years all illustrate the very same result: rates of horse abandonment, neglect and abuse are completely uncorrelated with the availability of local slaughter facilities.
In some of the debate concerning the proposed bills, the idea is even being perpetrated that somehow inviting foreign horse killers back on US soil is part of the solution to the severe recession currently devastating the US economy; the invitation is touted as “economic development” in, for example, Montana। A sort of bizarre economic stimulus package, for states suffering job losses. For those unaware, Americans don’t eat horsemeat. The foreign owned slaughter houses formerly on US soil paid next to no taxes here. All profits were repatriated to the foreign owners in Europe. And agricultural output and employment in America represent 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent of GDP and employment respectively, tiny fractions of aggregate economic activity, as in any industrialized nation; indeed, that is the hallmark of a mature, post-industrial, service based economy such as the United States. You aren’t going to resurrect the US or your own state economy by killing 100,000 horses, an American icon, to satisfy the palette of some French or Japanese gourmand.
The agricultural and breeding interests that finance these new state political efforts want equine slaughter reintroduced on US soil because a) they fear that social and cultural rejection of equine slaughter might actually somehow induce American citizens to stop eating animals that ARE consumed as food here, b) they want to continue to breed for income and US slaughterhouses provide a more convenient venue for routine culling of the scores of less than perfect and commercially non-viable equine products of that breeding, and c) they represent the interests of a small percentage of US citizens who believe they have the right to dispose of their own animal however they choose, even if that involves a socially and culturally unacceptable act which is abhorred by over 70 percent of the US population according to any survey I have ever read.
My understanding is that optimal policy design requires that incentives be altered, if you are going to shift the allocation of economic resources away from the privately profitable but socially undesirable, and towards the socially and culturally desirable. In my opinion the only way that you will halt irresponsible and excess breeding of equines, and irresponsible ownership, is to completely eliminate the slaughter option. While the horse slaughter industry EXISTS because foreigners want to eat horsemeat, it provides an easy reward for those who want to breed as many horses as they choose and dispose of the excess in the manner that they want to, and for owners who will not take responsibility for their horse’s care. Take away that reward with a federal ban on slaughter and export for slaughter, and slap a good tax on the product of any equine breeder, and the politicians currently yelling that we need to kill a bunch of
horses may find it much harder to spot one that is abandoned.
We are currently being inundated with arguments that the reintroduction of equine slaughter on US soil is "necessary"। The only thing it is necessary for is to fill the pockets of the big breeders and their agricultural associates, and perhaps the pockets of a “bought” politician or two. Apparently the senators and representatives of Montana who just passed a bill to introduce a new horse slaughter plant there care more about fulfilling those needs, than the fact that 85 percent of their own state citizens strongly object to the proposal. Suppose the devastated US economy is making it tough for horse owners and breeders to maintain for their animals in some states? Why is the solution to re-introduce a culturally and socially unacceptable practice with a horrendous USDA record of humane transportation violations? Why, instead, aren’t these states considering the establishment of temporary state funded horse rescues, with jobs in them that provide tax revenue, until the economy recovers and the horses can find homes? Why
aren’t they providing additional funding and jobs for Humane Societies and Animal Control agencies to cope with whatever is being claimed that they are having to deal with? Why not do something that BENEFITS HORSES as well as creating some jobs? And why not impose a state tax on horse breeders to help fund it all?
Caroline M. Betts, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
University of Southern California
Lorri

Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:03 am (PDT)
----- Original Message -----
From: Marge
URGENT ACTION NEEDED! PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!
Dear Americans Against Horse Slaughter,
At this time it is very urgent we focus all of our efforts to defeat the Illinois bill HB583.
The vote was going to take place Thursday, March 26th however, a motion was filed to delay the vote until next week. The vote is expected to take place on Tuesday. We will keep you informed if this changes.
We must realize that if the opposition succeeds, this could be damaging to our federal campaign.
Please see the following alert by AWI and Take Action! We need everyone from every state calling/faxing and emailing as many IL Representatives as you can. Please click on the following link for the entire Alert and for easy access to the IL Representatives.
Thanks for all of your help.
Americans Against Horse Slaughter
URGENT ALERT BELOW:http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/sacia_bad_horse_bill_2009.htm
This message was sent from Americans Against Horse Slaughter to redmm97@cox.net. It was sent from: Americans Against Horse Slaughter, 1551 Willow Pond Dr., Yardley, PA 19067. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.

Hi Folks,

We have all had full inboxes lately, so I have not been adding duplication by forwarding notices of articles. For this one I will make an exception. This is one of the best researched and most insightful articles our side has ever produced. Please take the time to read it!

If ever there was a nexus between the antislaughter movement and the mustang folks, Sue Wallis is it. She has quickly risen to be the dark heart of the movement to reinstate horse slaughter in the US and to sell our mustangs off so she and her ranking friends can have all the public lands to themselves.

Sun Mar 22, 2009 4:36 pm (PDT)
Begin forwarded message:
Please cross post. Very disturbing material from the pro side. The PowerPoint presentation is very twisted with pro slaughter spin and no documentation to back the claims. Theyb re pushing the wild horses to feed the hungry and claiming there is a market in the US for horsemeat for ethnic groups.
The information came from this link http://www.wyoagcoalition.org/index_files/Page2084.htm
Vicki | A Voice for Our Horses
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final
word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than
evil triumphant. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Proud member of Equine Welfare Alliance

===========================================================
BACKGROUND + FEDERAL & STATE ACTIONS TO TAKE
===========================================================
Those in favor of horse slaughter for human consumption claim U.S. slaughter
plants are better regulated than kill floors in Mexico and Canada. Opponents
of a horse slaughter ban contend abandonment/starvation of horses (because
caretakers can't finance their care) is far worse than slaughter. This line
of reasoning overlooks:
- Americans don't eat horsemeat and the majority oppose killing horses for meat.
- Horses aren't bred for meat and thus not checked for disease, pathogens prior to slaughter.
- Animal abandonment is illegal. Offenders should be charged, not permitted to profit from killing horses.
- Cow and pig slaughter methods used on horses are inhumane for these long-necked animals.
There are too many horses due to overbreeding in industries such as Premarin
and Prempro (HRT drugs from mare's urine); carriage horses; riding stables,
etc. Rather than study feasibility of new slaughterhouses, proponents ought
to question: “Why are so many animals sent to slaughter, starved or abandoned
by owners who refuse to take responsibility for their horses' humane care?" http://www.navs.org/site/News2?news_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=7757State Bills Related To Horse SlaughterTo read a state bill, go here: http://www.navs.org/site/News2?news_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=7757SUPPORT New Jersey A551: Referred to Assembly Agriculture & Natural
Resources Committee 1-8. Bans horse slaughter; horseflesh for consumption.SUPPORT New York A3736: Referred to Committee on Agriculture 1-28. Prohibits
slaughter of horses for human consumption.SUPPORT Arkansas SCR 11: Read twice by Senate and referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development 3-5 Urges horse
owners to take responsibility for the humane treatment and care of horses
during this time of economic crisis.OPPOSE Arizona SCM 1001: Senate first reading 1-29. Urges Congress to oppose
a federal ban on horse slaughter and transport of horses for slaughter.OPPOSE Arkansas HCR 1004: Passed House 1-29, read twice by Senate and
referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development
1-29. Requests congressional support of horse processing facilities.OPPOSE Idaho HJM5:3rd reading in House 3-12. Urges Congress to oppose
federal legislation that interferes with a state's ability to direct the
transport or processing of horses.OPPOSE Illinois HB 583:Placed on House calendar for second reading and
short debate 2-25. Repeals the state ban on the slaughter of horses.OPPOSE Illinois HR 160:In House, referred to Rules Committee 3-10. Urges
Congress to oppose federal legislation to ban the slaughter of horses and
the transport of horses for slaughter.OPPOSE Iowa SR 16: Resolution filed, referred to Rules & Administration 3-9.
Urges Congress to oppose federal legislation to ban the slaughter of horses
and the transport of horses for slaughter.OPPOSE Kansas HCR 5004: Adopted as amended by Agriculture and Natural
Resources 2-17. Resolution urges US Congress to oppose federal legislation
to ban the slaughter of horses and the transport of horses for slaughter.OPPOSE Minnesota SF 133:Senate refers to Agriculture and Veterans 1-22.
Resolution urging Congress to oppose federal legislation banning the
slaughter of horses and the transport of horses to slaughter.OPPOSE Minnesota HF 840: House first reading, referred to Agriculture, Rural
Economies & Veteran Affairs 2-16. Resolution urges Congress to oppose
a federal ban on horse slaughter and transport of horses for slaughter.OPPOSE Missouri HCR 19:House pass 3-11. Urges Congress to oppose a federal
legislation to ban horse slaughter and transport of horses for slaughter.OPPOSE Missouri SCR 8:Reported to House 3-5. Urges Congress to oppose a
federal ban on horse slaughter and transport of horses for slaughter.OPPOSE Montana HB 418: Passed 2-18, now in Senate, hearing 3-5. Authorizes
investor owned horse slaughter plants.OPPOSE North Dakota SCR 4021: Passed Senate. Urges Congress to recognize the
need for regulated horse processing facilities in the United States.OPPOSE North Dakota HB 1496:Introduced 1-19, passed 2-18. Lets Department
of Commerce conduct equine processing facility feasibility study.OPPOSE South Carolina SCR 480: Senate referred to Committee on Agriculture
and Natural Resources 2-25. Urges Congress to oppose federal legislation
interfering with a state's ability to direct transport/processing of horses.OPPOSE South Dakota SCR 2: Senate adopted 2-3-09, House of Representatives
Concurred in Resolution, Passed 2-5-09. Urges reinstatement and funding of a
federal inspection program for horse slaughter and euthanasia facilities.OPPOSE South Dakota SCR 4: Passed Senate 2-19, passed House 2-23. Supports
transport of horses out of the state and country.OPPOSE South Dakota SCR 10: Senate Adopt Resolution, Passed 3-10. Supports
efforts in other states to address need for equine slaughter/processing in U.SOPPOSE South Dakota SB114:Senate appropriations deferred, passed 2-5.
Provides for study of feasibility of horse slaughter plant in South Dakota.OPPOSE Tennessee HB 1361: Referred to Agriculture 2-19. Eliminates packaging
and labeling requirements for horsemeat.OPPOSE Utah HJR 7: Passed House. Urges Congress to oppose federal
legislation to ban horse slaughter and the export of horses for slaughter.OPPOSE Wyoming HJR 8: Signed into law. Urges Congress to oppose federal
legislation that would interfere with a state's authority to direct the
transport or processing of horses.=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================
1. Below is a sample letter about the FEDERAL (NATIONAL) Prevention of
Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503). You may use letter as written to send
to your Representative and Senators in Congress, in Washington D.C.
2. There are also many STATE BILLS to facilitate horse slaughter. Take a
minute to see if YOUR STATE is listed above. Modify the sample letter to
include the name of the state bill and your argument against it.
-- You have CONGRESSIONAL officials who represent you in Washington DC.
These are your FEDERAL LEGISLATORS.
-- You also have STATE officials who represent you in your state's capitol.
These are your STATE LEGISLATORS.FIND CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOUR FEDERAL & STATE LEGISLATORS HERE:* http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/?lvl=L
* http://www.votesmart.org/

March 18, 2009 at 17:52:21
Prices soaring for unwanted horses
by John Holland
www.opednews. com
The auctions call them loose horses because they are run through the auction ring without riders and are sold mostly to killer buyersb. Slaughter advocates including the AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) call them unwantedb horses because they clog up the market for new foals and new registration fees. But whatever you call them, they are suddenly in increasingly short supply.
The last three horse slaughter plants in the US were closed in 2007, but the industry quickly shifted to exporting the horses for slaughter in Canada and Mexico. By the middle of 2008, there were more horse slaughter houses killing American horses than at any time in the past decade. Yet the closings galvanized the meat packing industry which saw them as a dangerous victory for animal rights advocatesb and their perceived vegan agendab.
Within weeks of the first closings, countless anecdotal stories began appearing about how America is awash in unwanted horses. Lawmakers in almost a dozen agricultural states have put forward initiatives aimed at bringing slaughter back to the US, based largely on these accounts. But the actual sales statistics from the horse auctions tell a very different story.
For example the New Holland auction in Pennsylvania is one of the largest slaughter auctions in the country. In October of 2008, they sold a total of 815 slaughter grade horses at an average price of $323, but despite rapidly worsening economic conditions, by February that number had dropped by 28% to 582 horses and the average price had risen by 31.6% to $425. It is largely the same story at auctions across the country.
Leroy Baker, owner of the Sugar Creek Auction in Ohio, has been heard publicly assigning the shortage of sellers to bad publicity including an HBO documentary about race horses going to slaughter through his auction.
Moreover, the USDA recently fined Baker an unprecedented $162,800 for numerous violations of the Commercial Transport of Equines to Slaughter Act (CTESA). The act prohibits the transport to slaughter of late term pregnant mares, foals, blind horses and horses that cannot support their weight on all four legs; prohibits the use of double deck trailers; and specifies minimal rest and feeding intervals.
And Baker has not been the only source of bad publicity for the horse slaughter industry. In response to a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request, the USDA recently disclosed 900 pages of photos documenting some of the grizzliest violations imaginable that occurred at the Texas slaughter plants prior to their being ordered closed in 2007.
The photos, which were taken in an attempt to enforce compliance with the CTESA, show horses with horrific injuries ranging from severed legs to crushed skulls. Still other photos show blind horses, newborn foals and even a mare standing on the unloading docks with her placenta still draping to the manure covered floor.
The exposure of these photos was a double embarrassment to the AVMA (American Veterinary Medicine Association) . The evidence surfaced just as the AVMA was getting traction on a well financed PR campaign to convince lawmakers that the US plants should be reopened because they had been more humane.
Every indication is that the supply of unwanted horses will only get worse because production has been destroyed. The reason for this lies in the nature of the source of slaughter horses.
Contrary to popular perception, most horses sent to slaughter are not old, but young and healthy. They are largely the culls from an industry that over breeds in a quest for perfection. When times are good, the profits are made on the best foals and the culls (be they slow race horses or simply horses of the wrong color) are dumped to slaughter.
But the market for top grade riding and performance horses has tanked, once again proving the old adage b The best way to make a small fortune in horses is to start with a large one. So breeders have cut back. With less breeding there are fewer culls.
Some breeders liquidated in response to the low horse prices and high feed prices, while still others were forced out of the business when their properties were lost to foreclosure.
A Kentucky breeder, for example, gave away his entire prized Arab bloodline to keep the horses from going to slaughter.
And the kill auctions are losing yet another source of horses. Slammed by bad publicity, an increasing number of horse tracks have put in place zero tolerance programs that ban owners and trainers caught selling their horses to slaughter. In October, the Magna Entertainment Corporation announced that all nine of their tracks would have a zero tolerance policy and they were quickly joined by at least three other tracks.
Kill buyers have adapted to the shortage in a number of ways, including placing ads on sites like Craigb's List. In one memorable case, a kill buyer and his wife showed up at the sellerb's house saying they thought the horse would be a perfect starter horse for their young daughter. The horse was a Thoroughbred (racing) stallion.
But there remains one possible reservoir of unwanted horses. Since the first plants were closed in Texas, there have been countless unsubstantiated stories about horses being abandoned. Some slaughter advocates have estimated that as many as 170,000 such horses were abandoned just last year. This valuable pool of unwanted horses could serve as a kind of petroleum reserve for the horse slaughter industry if only they could be found. And for that matter, there are always the unicorns.
John Holland is a freelance writer and the author of three books. He frequently writes on the subject of horse slaughter from his small farm in the mountains of Virginia, where he lives with his wife, Sheilah, and their 12 equines. Holland is a charter member of the Equine Welfare Alliance and serves as senior analyst for Americans Against Horse Slaughter, an organization composed entirely of volunteers.
John Holland

Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:40 pm (PDT)
Are you a 501c3 seasoned equine rescue? Are you anti-slaughter? Are you willing to speak up against slaughter and to allow the HRC to add your rescue's name to letters against horse slaughter submitted to publications, newspapers, congress, equine organizations, and more?
Please consider joining the Horse Rescue Coalition www.horserescuecoalition.com
(website in progress)
501C3's can email me privately for more information martinmaryd@comcast.net (martinmaryd @ Comcast.net)
Mary M. www.horserescuecoalition.comwww.newenglandequinerescues.com
"A kind and compassionate act is often its own reward". ~ William John Bennett

FRIENDS -PLEASE TAKE 10 MINUTES OUT OF YOUR DAY AND MAKE THIS PHONE
CALL.REMEMBER WE ARE THE ONLY VOICE OUR HORSES HAVE.WE NEED TO PUSH THIS
THANKS!!!!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Americans Against Horse Slaughter" <aahsus@gmail.com>
To: <cdemao@parallax.ws>
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 3:21 PM
Subject: URGENT HELP NEEDED FOR MONTANA TODAY!
URGENT HELP NEEDED FOR MONTANA TODAY!!!
HR 418, a bill which allows private horse-slaughtering plants to be
built in Montana and offers them some protections from those who might
challenge a plant's license passed through a Senate committee in Montana
by a vote of 7-2 on Tuesday
The measure's next stop is most likely scheduled for Thursday March 19
where the full Senate will debate and vote on HR 418. If the Senate
approves and doesn't amend HR418, it will go to Democratic Gov. Brian
Schweitzer for his signature into law.
NOW is the time to flood those phone lines with calls from all over the
nation asking the MT Senate to vote NO on HR 418Messages can be left at (406) 444-4800.for the following Senators that
we are targeting: You can also fax to 406-444-4875
Senator Jackson SD 5
Sen Roy Brown SD 25
Sen Jim Shockley SD 45
Joe Balyeat SD 34
Sen Essman SD 28
Sen Laible SD 44
Sen Lewis SD 42
Sen Perry SD 35
Thanks for all that you do to help the horses,
Amercians Against Horse Slaughter
This message was sent by: Americans Against Horse Slaughter, 1551 Willow
Pond Dr., Yardley, PA 19067

Hi Folks,

I would like to pass along a few notices and to thank all the people who have been joining our ranks in Montana and North Dakota to fight those bills.

Please tune in this Wednesday @ 5:30p Eastern Time. This week our guest is Christine Berry from Equine Protection Network (EPN) to discuss HR 305. I’m sure we’ll also be discussing the state legislation for weeks to come, as well.

We’ll also have the chat open and you are welcome to dial in to comment.

Update on State Slaughter Resolutions; Idaho Joins Debate
by: Pat Raia
March 12 2009, Article # 13765
Print Email NEW! Add to Favorites RSS ShareThis
Idaho has joined the list of states pondering legislation aimed at maintaining control of equine transport and re-establishing the horse processing industry in the United States.
Introduced into Idaho's House State Affairs Committee this week by State Rep. Thomas F. Loertscher, HJM 005 instructs Idaho's congressional delegation to vote against the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (HR 503). The federal measure would impose a nationwide ban on the transport of horses for slaughter.
Resolutions similar to Idaho's have passed in:
a.. Kansas (HCR 5004)
b.. South Dakota (SCR 2)
c.. Utah (HJR 7)
d.. Wyoming (HJR 8)
Similar resolutions are pending in:
a.. Arizona (SCM 1001)
b.. Minnesota (SF 133)
c.. North Dakota (HB 1496)
d.. Arkansas (HCR 1004)
e.. Missouri (House, HCR 19; Senate, SCR 8)
Meanwhile, legislators in the following states are considering bills that would amend current state laws to promote the development of horse slaughter plants by private investors:
a.. Illinois (HB 0583)
b.. Montana (HB 418)
c.. Tennessee (HB 1361)
Read more about these bills.
The bills are the first to establish horse processing facilities in the United States since 2007, when lawmakers in Texas and in Illinois shuttered slaughter plants in those states. Horses are currently shipped to facilities in Mexico and Canada for processing for markets in Europe and Asia.
Keep an eye on TheHorse.com for updates as this situation develops.
Click here to contact your Senator. Click here to contact your Representative.

Animals' Angels investigators investigate the horse slaughter feedlot in Morton, Texas on March 1, 2009. The investigation revealed live horses housed in the same area of the property where the company is composting dead animals. Several dead horse carcasses could visually be seen, as well as live horses standing, eating and laying down in composting piles. http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=mBmhKvK4lR0

important in Canada..***note....this means they are reading the petition for potential action

CHICAGO, (EWA) – In a vote of callous disregard to suffering, the Montana House of Representatives voted Thursday to bring horse slaughter to the Big Sky State. Terrified of a ban on horse slaughter at the federal level, animal agriculture organizations such as the U.S. Farm Bureau, and national cattle raisers associations have introduced state bills across the farm belt to show support for returning abattoirs to the US.

While most of the bills are little more than nonbinding resolutions, a few are truly Draconian.

The Montana bill (H.B.418) would prohibit courts from issuing injunctions against horse slaughter facilities and require expensive bonds and impose penalties on anyone attempting a legal challenge to building a horse slaughter house.

Passage of such a bill would be an insult to the memory of the brave men and women who more than 200 years ago fought for everyman’s unfettered access to the courts.

Thursday this Draconian bill moved to the Senate Agriculture committee for hearings.

But even as the Montana Senate Agriculture committee listened to the debate, the North Dakota Senate decided similar language in their pro-slaughter bill (HB 1496) was too much and they stripped it out.

The language, known as Section I, would have required anyone contesting the construction of a horse slaughter plant to post a bond equal to 20% of the construction cost.

As it now stands, their bill provides for $50,000 to fund a study on the feasibility of building a horse slaughter plant.

While clearly targeted at horse advocates and animal rights activists, the Montana bill would prevent all citizens from challenging the building of a plant in their neighborhoods.

Among those arguing for the bill was slaughter advocate Sue Wallis who shrilly warned the committee that it would hear a lot of emotional arguments from the opponents who she said secretly wanted to ban all meat.

She went on to testify how these opponents would eventually deprive American infants of the protein needed for their brains to develop.

The argument, if it wasn’t so pitiful, would be laughable. Can any American really believe for a moment that we can give up our love of one of the nation’s great institutions, the hamburger? We counter that there will likely always be a McDonalds.

The committee questioned how any plant could currently slaughter horses in the US for human consumption given the most recent farm bill which had removed funding for federally mandated United States Department of Agriculture meat inspections.

To this one of the proponents replied, “The Belgians tell me they can do their own inspections.” (The issue of whether such plants could pay for their own inspections was contested in the courts in 2007 and the courts ruled they could not.)

Among the opponents was Paula Bacon, the former mayor of Kaufman, Texas who told of her prolonged fight to rid her town of the Dallas Crown slaughter plant. Bacon provided the committee with documentation of the years of pollution and other problems her town suffered from blood backing up into bathtubs to a nearby hospital that was forced to install air filtration because of stifling odors. Other opponents to the bill objected strictly on the basis that it deprived the citizens of their legal rights.

HELENA, Mont. -- The Montana House of Representatives strongly endorsed a bill that paves the way for construction of a horse slaughterhouse in Montana and aims to bring the industry back to the United States.

Backers said ranchers and those who own horses have been struggling ever since all the slaughterhouses in the country were closed down. They said it is far more difficult now to dispose of old, sick or injured animals.

"This bill is really providing a humane and regulated processing plant," said the sponsor, Republican Rep. Ed Butcher, a horse owner from the central Montana farm community of Winifred. "Demand is there. We want a humane way to address the problem."

The measure was endorsed 67-33 Tuesday in the first of two scheduled House votes. If it passes again Wednesday as expected, it will go to the Senate for more hearings and votes.

Butcher said his bill gives investors assurance that Montana will treat their businesses fairly if they build in the state.

He was backed by agriculture interests on both sides of the aisle. House Majority Leader Margarett Campbell, D-Poplar, said the closure of the country's last slaughterhouse "had a devastating effect on ranchers."

Others said that old and lame horses are being abandoned on public land in some cases.

Cavel International Inc. Shut down its DeKalb, Ill., operation after the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2007 upheld an Illinois law prohibiting slaughter of horses for human consumption.

Opponents argued that a horse slaughterhouse should not be granted special exemptions from environmental and other laws, and should be treated like any factory.

Rep. Sue Malek, D-Missoula, said animals should be more justly treated. "We need to care about animals and be responsible owners," she said.

In 2007, when state-imposed bans closed the last three U.S. Horse slaughterhouses, a record 78,000 horses were exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics compiled by the Humane Society.

Butcher argued the country needs a slaughterhouse as cases of horse abandonment and cruelty escalate amid economic upheaval that has some owners of the animals unable to care for them, unable to find new homes for horses and looking for ways to dispose of them humanely and affordably.

Selling horses for slaughter was an option when the country had facilities to take them, Butcher said, but now people are left with the cost of euthanasia plus disposal fees that can run into hundreds of dollars.

Butcher said slaughtering domestically makes more sense than sending U.S. Horses to Canada or Mexico, and the work can be done swiftly, without pain to the animal.

But Nancy Perry, the Humane Society's vice president for government affairs, has said horses are particularly ill-suited for traditional slaughterhouses. The animals are likely to try to escape the kill box and the procedure for killing them can be disrupted.

Im just so sick of our elected officals. they tell you one thing and
then follow the foreign profits and reward irresponsible people.
Horse slaughtering bill passes House committee [advertisement]
By State Capitol Bureau GateHouse News Service Posted Feb 24, 2009 @
04:25 PM SPRINGFIELD, Ill. —
A measure to repeal the two-year-old ban on horse slaughtering for human
consumption in Illinois is gaining some momentum in the state
legislature.
The House Agriculture and Conservation Committee voted 11-2 Tuesday for
House Bill 583, pushed by Republican Rep. Jim Sacia of Pecatonica, to
lift the ban. The measure now moves to the full House.
Sacia's veterinarian, Dr. Tim Strathman, testified before the committee
in favor of repealing the ban. To appease animal rights groups,
Strathman proposed adding a tax on horses at slaughter plants to Sacia's
measure. He said a $25 fee on horses payable to the state could then be
turned over to horse organizations to fund non-slaughter alternatives.
Former Rep. Bob Molaro, D-Chicago, testified against repealing the ban
that he had pushed for successfully two years ago. He said Strathman's
tax proposal does not address his concern that slaughtering horses is
always inhumane.
"I just don't understand how we can tell these pets who have served and
worked for us, 'We're going to slaughter you so Europeans can eat you,'"
Molaro said.
Supporters of the slaughter ban consider the vote a setback, but remain
optimistic.
"We're very disappointed by the vote, but we hope to have a better
result on the (House) floor," said Jordan Matyas, the Illinois state
director of the Humane Society of the United States.
State Capitol Bureau

Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:32 am (PST)
Interesting Slaughter Perspective
Came across this great letter from the former Mayor of one of the TX towns (Kaufman)that house housed one of the 3 plants recently shut down. Made me wonder why any town would welcome another such facility.
Former Mayor Paula Bacon
City of Kaufman
Kaufman, TX 75142
RE: HB 418 February 12th, 2009
Dear Montana Agriculture Committee Members:
You will soon be asked to vote on the subject legislation regarding the commercial slaughter of American horses of which you probably have very little first hand knowledge. No doubt you have heard from
lobbyists and organizations who want you to support the practice, but before you do, you should ask yourself why the residents of Texas and Illinois worked so hard to rid their states of their horse slaughter plants. The answer may surprise you.
As a mayor who lived with this plague in her town for many years, who knows what the horse slaughter industry really is and what it does to a community please allow me to tell you what we experienced. The industry caused significant and long term hardship to my community which was home to Dallas Crown, one of the last three horse slaughter plants in the United States.
All three plants were foreign-owned, and since the market for horsemeat is entirely foreign, the industry will always be dominated by these foreign interests. The corporations involved in this
industry have consistently proven themselves to be the worst possible corporate citizens.
The Dallas Crown horse slaughtering facility had been in operation in Kaufman since the late 70's and from the beginning had caused problems both economically and environmentally. I have listed some of the specific issues below.
I will gladly provide you with detailed reports from my former City Manager, Police Chief, and Public Works Director regarding odor and wastewater effluence violations at the Dallas Crown horse slaughter
plant in the City of Kaufman.. The reports reference "decaying meat [which] provides a foul odor and is an attraction for vermin and carrion," containers conveyed "uncovered and leaking liquids," there are "significant foul odors during the daily monitoring of the area," and "Dallas Crown continually neglects to perform within the standards required of them."
Therefore, in August of 2005, our City Council decided by unanimous decision to send the Dallas Crown issue to the Board of Adjustments for termination of their non-conforming use status. In March of 2006, the Board of Adjustments voted to order Dallas Crown closed, but the plant was able to tie the enforcement up in the courts until they were finally closed under state law in February of 2007.
Dallas Crown repeatedly described itself as a "good corporate citizen." I will be straightforward in asserting that they are the very antithesis of such.
. Dallas Crown had a very long history of violations to their industrial waste permit, 'loading' the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant.
. Dallas Crown denied the City access to their property for wastewater testing beginning October 1, 2004 until July 6, 2005, despite requirement by city ordinance, city permit agreement, and court order.
. City staff reported that a $6 million upgrade to our wastewater treatment plant would be required even though the plant was planned and financed to last through 2015.
. Odor problems resulting from the outside storage of offal and hides over several days persisted not only in traditionally African- American neighborhood known as "Boggy Bottom", but at the nearby Presbyterian Hospital, the daycare center, and surrounding areas.
. Transport of offal and fresh hides on City and state thoroughfares is conducted in leaking containers without covers.
. City documents reveal an extended history of efforts to have Dallas Crown address various environmental issues. Reports include descriptive language including such as "blood flowing east and west in the ditches from your plant," "It has been over 45 days [it had been 59 days] and no apparent cleanup has occurred," "Your system has not improved and subsequently it has gotten a lot worse," "Words cannot express the seriousness" of recent violations and the "adverse effects on the wastewater treatment plant," and "Please be sure trailers are secured before leaving your premises to prevent spills," noting also "bones and blood laying in front of the facility," problems with bones and parts in neighboring yards and the attraction
of "dogs and other animals."
. In response to 29 citations for wastewater violations, each accompanied by a potential fine of $2,000, Dallas Crown requested 29 separate jury trials, potentially causing yet another economic strain to the City's budget. We could, of course, not afford to litigate in order to extract the fines
. Dallas Crown took 11 months to submit a mandatory "sludge control plan" to assist efficient operation of the wastewater treatment plant though City staff requested it orally and in writing many times.
. The City Manager advised me that the City would have to spend $70,000 in legal fees because of Dallas Crown problems, which was the entire legal budget for the fiscal year.
. During this period, Dallas Crown paid property taxes that were less than half of what the City spent on legal fees directly related to Dallas Crown violations.
. Generally, Dallas Crown has the economic ability to prevail, to exceed the constraints of the City's budget.
Dallas Crown had a negative effect on the development of surrounding properties, and a horse slaughter plant is a stigma to the development of our city generally. I have since learned that these problems were mirrored at the other two plants. Fort Worth's Beltex horse slaughter plant also violated Ft. Worth's wastewater regulations several times, clogged sewer lines, and both spilled and pumped blood into a nearby creek (San Antonio Current, June 19, 2003 ). Texas state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, whose district
includes Beltex, and Rep. Toby Goodman, R-Arlington, fought hard against legislation that would have legalized horse slaughter in Texas in 2003.
The horse slaughter plant in DeKalb, IL had a similar pattern. It was destroyed by fire in 2002, and rebuilt in 2004. It was charged and fined by the DeKalb Sanitary District almost every month from the reopening until its closing in 2007 under a new state law for consistently exceeding wastewater discharge guidelines. I can
provide you with the documentation of those violations. Like Dallas Crown, Cavel refused to pay their fines for years.
During this time, I learned that an estimated $5 million in Federal funding was being spent annually to support three foreign-owned horse slaughter plants! And when the Dallas Crown tax records were exposed in the city's legal struggle, we found that they had paid only $5 in federal taxes on a gross income of over $12,000,000!
More over, the parent company of Cavel has since moved its operations to Canada and continued to slaughter American horses. In Canada they have apparently become even more blatant, dumping huge untreated piles of entrails onto open ground and even using a tanker truck to discharge blood and refuse into a local river.
I have mentioned only the pollution issue, but this is but one negative aspect of horse slaughter. I have subsequently learned of a USDA document containing 900 pages of graphic photos that show the
horrors that the horses were subject to. Behind the privacy fences of these plants, trucks arrived continuously and on those trucks was every form of inhumane violation one can imagine from mares birthing
foals to horses with eyes dangling from their sockets and legs ripped from their bodies.
The more I learn about horse slaughter, the more certain I am: There is no justification for horse slaughter in this country. My city was little more than a door mat for a foreign-owned business that drained our resources, thwarted economic development and stigmatized our community. Americans don't eat horses, and we don't raise them for human consumption. There is no justification for spending American tax dollars to support this industry at the expense of Americans and our horses.
Sincerely,
Former Mayor Paula Bacon
Kaufman, TX
972-782-2774 home
325-665-2043 cell

MARCH FOR HORSES
March Against Horse Slaughter
We are getting more and more excited as we put the finishing touches
on our March for Horses campaign.
Joining us in Washington DC for the month of March are all of our
lobbyists, well-versed and experienced on the horse slaughter issue.
As you march with us against horse slaughter from where you are, they
will be on the Hill, driving your message home to federal legislators-
- end the slaughter of America's horses across our borders, and
prevent horse slaughterers from setting up here.
Also, joining us in cities across the country during the month of
March are volunteers who will be street teaming in an effort to raise
further and much needed awareness about the horse slaughter issue.
While that is going on, we are having door hangers placed in nearby
suburban areas of the cities where street teaming is taking place. A
major target is Montana, which just so happens -- a certain quarter
says -- to want a purpose built horse slaughter plant in that
state. That state just so happens to a feedlot that supplies
Bouvry's in Canada with horses for slaughter.
Your participation in the Action Alerts during March are
strategically planned and timed to support the appointments we have,
and street teaming we are conducting. We therefore need you to get
involved at the highest level you can.
PLEASE HELP WITH A DONATION
It our intention, with your help, to make this a really, really big
campaign and therefore ask you to make a donation of $10.00.http://fund4horses.org/info.php?id=1042
-- Make a non tax deductible donation to support our lobbying
activities.
This will pay for:
Metro cards
Printing
CD production
Rent (our utilities are included)
Internet service
(Note: Meals for strategy meetings are donated to us by obliging
nearby restaurants
Thankfully we have plenty of office supplies we acquired from
Presidential campaign offices for little or nothing when they shut
down after the election!)
-- Make a tax deductible donation to support our awareness raising
activities.
This will pay for:
Door hanger printing
Door hanger distribution services
Caps and tee-shirts
Buttons (to hand out)
Postcards (to hand out)
MANY, MANY THANKS
We are so grateful to all of you who have given already of your cash
donations (many of them doubled during matching gifts), in kind
donations, monthly gifts, major gifts, volunteer time, ideas and
suggestions. For all of you who make a monthly donation, it was
because of you we felt confident to launch March for Horses. Thank
you.
The more we receive, the more we are able to do.
Door hanger distribution and street teaming are both highly effective
in getting the word out, reaching thousands who had no idea that
horses are slaughtered for their meat, and horrified at the thought
it may be coming to their state.
Here's the link again to make either a tax deductible or non tax
deductible cash gift:http://fund4horses.org/info.php?id=1042
Thanks everyone. I will be reporting from Washington DC starting
next week.
Until then,
Thank you and have a great rest of the week and weekend.
Vivian Grant,
President
Int'l Fund for Horses

States Ask to Retain Control of Equine Transport, Slaughter
by: Pat Raia
February 12 2009, Article # 13609
Lawmakers in two Western states have sponsored resolutions urging Congress to let state legislators make up their own minds about horse slaughter issues within their lines. Wyoming's House Joint Resolution (HJR 8) and Utah's House Joint Resolution (HJR 7) both argue the federal Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (HR 503) interferes with states' rights to pursue private sector development of horse slaughter processing plants.
Introduced in January, 2009, by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), HR 503 prohibits the transport, sale, delivery, or export of American horses for slaughter for human consumption. It also criminalizes the purchase, sale, delivery, or export of horsemeat intended for human consumption. The bill remains in committee.
"We can handle (these issues) as a state better than the feds can," said Utah State Rep. Bradley Winn, a sponsor of the resolution. "With this resolution, we're just telling our representatives in Washington how to vote."
Wyoming and Utah are among four states considering legislation promoting horse processing plant development. North Dakota legislators are seeking state funding for a plant development feasibility study, and a Montana bill would change state law to accommodate prospective processing plant investors. (Read more.)
In 2007 state actions brought about the closure of processing plants in Texas and Illinois that were the only facilities in the United States processing horsemeat for human consumption. Currently, horses are shipped to facilities in Mexico and Canada for processing for human consumption in Europe and Asia.

Mon Feb 16, 2009 2:08 am (PST)
Friends – It took three years to get these pictures released.
This is what happens to horses on double-deckers. (See link.)
From slaughter auctions (like the infamous Sugarcreek with killer buyer Leroy
Baker in charge), onto a double-decker for a hellish journey with horses
unable to lift their heads (horses are not rested, hayed or given water) to the
nightmare of slaughter – this is what the pro-slaughter faction lobbies for!
Horses are skinned alive and mares in foal have their foals cut from their
bellies and thrown to the floor to die.
Those who fight this nightmare from hell have empty pockets, while the
opposition donates to the “campaigns” of our representatives in Congress.
Corruption, at all levels, rules the day – ala Larry Craig. Nobody who plays a role
in this, or chooses to be a by-stander, is innocent.
We can convince the Congress of the United States to stop this unthinkable
cruelty - if we speak out in unison.
Please share this information with all up standing horsemen/women you know
and with friends and family. And please ask all to contact their
representatives in Washington to demand that horse slaughter and double-deckers be outlawed.
Do not be a by-stander, while horses suffer.
Send these pictures (see link), via fax. Tell the U.S. Congress to stop this
horror and to act immediately.
Thank you.
* PLEASE CLICK ON LINK BELOW, but be prepared to see the results of a ride in
a double-decker.
http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/foiaphotos.html http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/foiaphotos.html

Bill Introduced to Restore Ban on Commercial Sale, Slaughter of Wild Horses
Edited Press Release
WASHINGTON — A bill to restore the 34-year ban on the commercial sale and slaughter of America's wild, free-roaming horses and burros (H.R. 1018) was introduced today by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Az.). In the 110th Congress, similar legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives by more than a two-to-one margin with a vote of 277 to 137.

In addition to preventing the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses, H.R. 1018 prevents wholesale killing of healthy wild horses, prioritizes on-the-range management over roundups (including immunocontraception as a population control strategy that will save tax dollars), and prohibits particularly cruel round up methods, such as the use of helicopters and other airborne devices.

Today's actions seek to restore the federal protections for wild horses and burros from sale and slaughter for human consumption overseas. Wild horses and burros had been protected from commercial sale and slaughter since the passage of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The longstanding protections for wild horses were gutted by a controversial, midnight rider slipped into an omnibus spending bill by former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) in late 2004. Burns was defeated in the 2006 election.

This legislation comes on the heels of the Bureau of Land Management's controversial announcement last year that it was considering killing large numbers of wild horses taken from the rangeland.

http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/NV_Wild_Horses_385209C.shtml
This one allows comments:http://www.modbee.com/state_wire/story/597875.html
Bill would block killing of wild horses, burros
By SANDRA CHEREB
The Associated Press
RENO, Nev.
Legislation was introduced Thursday in Congress that would prevent the
U.S. Bureau of Land Management from killing otherwise healthy wild
horses and burros that roam Western states.
"It is unacceptable for wild horses to be slaughtered without any regard
for the general health, well-being, and conservation of these iconic
animals that embody the spirit of our American West," Rep. Nick Rahall,
D-W.V., said in a statement.
Rahall, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, has long been
an advocate for wild horses on public lands.
"Our wild horses are being harmed by antiquated policies," said the
measure's co-sponsor Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the National
Parks, Forests and Public Lands subcommittee. "These policies must be
updated to reflect Americans' desire to see these horses protected."
Besides prohibiting the killing of healthy horses and burros that are
removed from the range, the bill would allow BLM to revamp and expand
public land areas for horses and assist in creating sanctuaries.
It also calls for strengthening the agency's adoption program and
increasing public involvement in management decisions, the sponsors said.
"These critical, commonsense changes ... will help to sustain the
current population of wild horses and burros, without having to resort
to slaughter as a solution for management," Rahall's said.
The BLM is struggling to manage some 33,000 wild horses and burros that
roam 10 Western states under the protection of a 1971 law passed by
Congress. Nevada is home to half the wild horse herds in the nation.
The agency has said the wild herd should be restricted to about 27,000
horses to protect the animals, the range and other foraging animals. The
BLM rounds up excess horses and offers them for adoption. Those too old
or considered unadoptable are sent to long-term holding facilities,
where they can live for decades.
But the agency says the cost of caring for the animals is ballooning,
and there are now as many animals in holding facilities as there are
running free.
A report issued last fall by the Government Accountability Office said
the BLM "cannot afford to care for all the animals off the range, while
at the same time manage wild horse and burro populations on the range."
It said the BLM this year will spend about $27 million about
three-fourths of its horse and burro budget caring for the animals.
Continuing current practices would require a budget of $58 million next
year, escalating to $77 million in 2012, according to GAO estimates.
The GAO report also noted that the BLM has authority to kill or sell
excess horses without restriction from slaughter, but has been loathe to
do so.
The National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board in November recommended
several options for dealing with the growing herd, including euthanasia.
BLM Deputy Director Henri Bisson has said the agency would put off
killing horses this year while it worked with Congress, ranchers and
wildlife advocates to find a solution.
Critics blame mismanagement by the BLM for the problem. They also say
horses are given short shrift on public lands because they compete with
livestock for forage.
___
On the Net:
Bureau of Land Management: http://www.blm.gov
International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros: http://www/ispmb.org
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2009 14:59 PST

Hi Folks,
Paula Bacon (former Mayor of Kaufman, TX), Laura Allen (Animal Law Coalition), and I will be guests on this first program on horse slaughter. Please visit the program's resource page and pass the link along to everyone you know who might be interested.http://wflendangeredstreamlive.org/savingamericashorses.html
This is a wonderful venue for getting the word out and I intend to recommend a lot of people in the movement be considered as guests for future programs on other aspects of horse welfare.
John

Wed Feb 4, 2009 8:11 am (PST)
Humane Society Says It Will Not Oppose Slaughter of Farm and Ranch Animals
Despite Ag Interest Groups Claims
Farmers and Rancher Target HSUS
Equestrian Magazine Issues Stern Criticism to Breeders
By Steven Long
HOUSTON, (Horseback Magazine) - The nation's largest animal welfare
organization has for the first time gone on the record to counter claims
that it wants to end the slaughter of food animals.
Michael Markarian, executive vice president of Washington based Humane
Society of the United States, emphatically countered the charge frequently
made by agriculture groups that it wants nothing less than to end the
slaughter of any animal for food, not just horses.
Asked Tuesday if HSUS is targeting the food animal industry for abolition
Markarian was quick to respond.
"The answer is no," he told Horseback Magazine through a spokeswoman. "That
is not our goal."
Agriculture groups from across the nation have zeroed in on HSUS as the bogy
man in their war with animal welfare activists over horse slaughter. They
say that the ultimate goal of the Society is to eliminate the killing of all
food animals including cattle, sheep, goats, and swine.
"They have a simple goal, and that is to eliminate animal agriculture in
this country," said South Dakota Rancher Troy Hadrick in a story in Tuesday
s Rapid City Journal.
Such talk is sweeping the nation. Agriculture interests will soon take their
battle to Congress and to state legislatures as legislation to end horse
slaughter forever is brought up for debate and a vote.
In meeting after meeting, both large and small, farmers and ranchers are
pointed to the Humane Society by industry leaders as the group most well
funded and determined to end their livelihood and way of life. The result
has been an emotional upheaval against the group coming from across rural
America.
In the current Texas legislative session a fierce battle is expected over
the issue. It will pit recreational horse owners and animal rescue operators
against breeders, ranchers, and much of the horse industry itself.
Polling has consistently shown that an overwhelming majority of Americans
oppose the slaughter of horses.
The industry is well funded and able to tap the deep pockets of the Farm
Bureau, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raiser's Association, AQHA and others
who have a vested interest in being able to recoup the costs of raising a
horse with little market value. Selling a horse for slaughter enables a
breeder to recover at least part of his costs for breeding a seemingly
unwanted horse. In short, it's all about money and the ability to recover
the investment made to breed the animal.
The battle could well be waged in multiple states all at once, as well as in
Congress. Animal rights activists counter that there are no unwanted horses
and most animals culled from breeding programs may be placed with the public
if only given the chance. They say that it is a myth that old, frail, and
ill horses are sold for slaughter as the slaughter advocates frequently
claim. They say it's all about meat on the hoof, and there isn't much meat
on a starving horse.
Yet the agriculture industry is fiercely determined to bring back slaughter
plants that were outlawed and closed in Texas and Illinois during the past
two years.
In fact, a bill has already been filed in South Dakota that would provide
funding for a study to establish a horse slaughter industry in that state.
Currently, there is no legal horse slaughter facility operating in the
United States, although horses are shipped to Canada and Mexico to supply
markets in Europe and Japan.
While the Humane Society has now gone on record saying it will not target
animal agriculture for elimination, that doesn't mean it has embraced it
either.
"Most animals raised for meat, eggs, and dairy products today suffer
immensely on factory farms," said HSUS spokeswoman Heather Sullivan. "They
are confined by the tens of thousands in warehouses where many of their
natural instincts are frustrated and are generally treated like mere
commodities as opposed to living, feeling individuals."
Sullivan said the organization welcomes animal lovers of all dietary
persuasions, from vegans to confirmed carnivores.
"The Humane Society of the United States is a big tent organization -- we're
comprised of vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. In fact, the vast majority
of our members are not vegetarians," she said.
"We accept the fact that most Americans eat animals and we support efforts
by individuals, corporations, voters and lawmakers (and what they) can do to
help reduce the suffering of these animals. At the same time, while most
Americans eat animals, they do not want to see them treated inhumanely. The
industry can only be expected to go so far as the public wants it to go, and
many standard industry practices today are clearly out of step with the
sentiments of most Americans. This is where HSUS focuses the bulk of our
farm animal resources.
While HSUS is not officially opposed to meat eating, it clearly isn't
promoting it either, and in fact promotes alternatives.
"We support a variety of reasonable efforts to help reduce animal suffering.
If consumers want to avoid eating animals, we'll provide them with the
information they need to make that decision," Sullivan said. "If they want
to reduce the number of animals they eat, we'll give them recipes and other
useful information. And if they want to avoid products that cause the most
animal suffering (e.g., switching from battery cage eggs to cage-free eggs),
we applaud that too, and give them the info they need on where they can find
those products. This is the range of motion for the bulk of the American
public, and we are comfortable working in all of these ways."
Tel: 281-447-0772
FAX: 281-893-1029
Internet: news@texashorsetalk.com

and send it to the Arkansas Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development (Arkansas Senator committee member addresses below).

Arkansas will consider adopting legislation tomorrow which indicates to the federal government that our state supports the return of the U.S. horse slaughter industry.

This is ironic since the Governor is signing new anti-cruelty legislation into law on Wednesday. However, the new anti-cruelty legislation does not protect horses from slaughter and the Arkansas Horse Council (AHC) formed a committee to determine how to open a horse slaughterhouse in our state. In line with this mission, the AHC lobbied Senator Ragland to introduce HCR 1004 legislation which lays the ground work for their plan and sends a message to the federal government that Arkansas supports horse slaughter.

Thank you all for your consideration. Please help Arkansas with this fight - anti-slaughter folks are in the minority here because of the Farm Bureau.

Also, a friend shared a competing resolution that was introduced in Utah. We are going to add the FOIA release but otherwise, leave it intact. I forwarded it to a friend who is going to try to persuade an Arkansas Senator to introduce it as a competing resolution. If anyone wants a copy of it, lemme know.

sending everywhere..feel free to forward and take or not take..action..

----- Original Message -----

From: New_York_Farm_Bureau

Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 5:31 PM

Subject: Unwanted Horse Survey Deadline Approaching

Deadline for Unwanted Horse Survey Approaching

The opportunity to respond to a public survey launched by the Unwanted Horse Coalition (UHC) is coming to a close. Launched in November, the survey will provide data on the scope of the unwanted horse issue. It is available at Survey.ictgroup. com/uhcsurvey (remove spaces) and will be closed at the end of the month.

Although some say the number of unwanted horses is on the rise, there are few documented facts about the accurate number of unwanted horses, their age, sex, breed, recent use, value, or what happens to them in the long run.

"Although there are numerous media reports and much anecdotal evidence of a growing problem with unwanted horses, there have been no studies or surveys done to attempt to document it," said Jay Hickey, president of the American Horse Council (AHC), the national association that represents all segments of the horse industry in Washington, D.C. "The downturn in the economy, rising costs of hay, the drought that has affected many parts of the United States, the costs of euthanasia and carcass disposal, and the closing of the nation's slaughter facilities have all made the problem worse. But no one knows its magnitude. That's why the first step toward a solution is to gather and examine the facts. The goal of this survey is to get the input, observations, opinions and suggestions from anyone and everyone involved with horses."

The effort, known as the "Study on Contributing Factors Surrounding the Unwanted Horse Issue" will be instrumental in filling factual gaps with actual data on:

·Awareness of the unwanted horse problem and perceived trends in recent years;

·Level of concern;

·Factors contributing to the problem;

·Direct and indirect experience with the issue;

·Actions taken by owners;

·Expectations about responsibility and assistance;

·Solutions.

An independent research firm developed the questionnaire and is hosting the online survey site at Survey.ictgroup. com/uhcsurvey (remove spaces). The firm will also tabulate and analyze responses, and provide a full report.

A comprehensive view of the problem depends on representation from all corners of the horse industry, according to Tom Lenz, DVM, chairman of the UHC. "To ensure the broadest possible participation, we're working to involve a variety of individuals, associations, state and local agencies, and equine-related companies to actively encourage their constituencies to take the survey and voice their opinions."

We will be sending out frequent updates to let you know the status of
the Federal Legislation to end horse slaughter along with instructions
on how you can help. Also included will be links to information on
states that need help in stopping State Legislation promoting the
slaughter of horses.

To make its position clear on horse slaughter, Fairmount Park in Illinois has put in place a zero-tolerance policy that would take stalls away from trainers involved in the practice. And in an effort to address the unwanted horse situation, the track has created an adoption program for Fairmount runners when they retire from racing.

There are no slaughterhouses currently operating in the United States, but horses are being transported from U.S. livestock auctions to plants in Mexico and Canada.

Fairmount’s new policy states: “Any trainer or owner stabling at Fairmount Park who directly or indirectly participates in the transport of a horse from Fairmount to either a slaughterhouse or an auction house engaged in selling horses for slaughter will be prohibited from having stalls at Fairmount Park.” The policy also applies to any actions related to the transport of a horse from Fairmount in which the ultimate intended result is the horse’s slaughter.

In 2008, Magna Entertainment Corp., which operates racetracks nationwide, formally adopted a company-wide plan promoting the humane treatment of racehorses that included the same stipulations as Fairmount’s policy. Suffolk Downs in Massachusetts and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in West Virginia have adopted similar guidelines.

“We decided that was the right thing to do, and my wife, Janice, and I thought we should take it to the next level,” said Lanny Brooks, executive director of the Illinois Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. “If we are forbidding horsemen to take their horses to a sale where they might fall into the hands of a killer buyer, then we felt they should be given an alternative of what to do with their horse when it could no longer race.”

That led Brooks to help establish a program called Racehorse Alternative Choice Environment. “We have formed the non-profit corporation, and are in the final stages of making a deal with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation,” he said.

In 2007, Fairmount created a free “horses for sale” program as an outlet for Fairmount-based horsemen to sell their horses. Though that program has been successful, Brooks said it was only the first step.

“We now find that there is an increasing need to address the problem of horses that can’t be sold or need time to be rehabilitated and placed in a new home,” Brooks said. “This is a work in progress, and as we go along, we will constantly try to improve the program.”

To cover the cost of a donation to a retirement center where the horses will be stabled, transportation, and other expenses, Brooks has proposed that Fairmount owners allow $2 per start to be deducted from their accounts and be placed into a fund that will be administered by a non-profit corporation and set up by Fairmount and the Illinois HBPA. The amount will be matched by Fairmount dollar-for-dollar at the start of the track’s next meet April 7.

“This is a small amount of money for the return we will receive in the welfare of our horses and the positive public relations that will result from doing this,” said Brooks, who noted the response to the new adoption program so far has been overwhelming. “We did this simply because it’s the right thing to do. Our horses give us all they have for as long as they can, and it’s my opinion that we have an obligation to return the favor when the time comes.”

A North Dakota lawmaker is pushing a bill that would set money aside to study whether the state should process unwanted horses.
Rep. Rod Froelich, D-Selfridge, is sponsoring a bill that would direct $100,000 to study the possibility of opening a processing plant - otherwise known as a slaughterhouse - for unwanted horses in North Dakota.
Froelich said in light of federal regulations, as well as Illinois and Texas closing the only horse processing plants in the nation, the number of abandoned horses has skyrocketed, while the plants that accept horses have moved to other countries.
"People used to have a market for unwanted horses," Froelich said. "The value of them has plummeted to nil."
He said without processing plants, it's become difficult for horse owners who have unwanted livestock to figure out what to do with them, which could lead to more horses being abandoned or forcing horse owners to euthanize them at a high cost.
If there were processing plants, the horse owner could at least sell the unwanted horse, Froelich said, adding his family owns one of the oldest horse ranches in North Dakota.
Congress also is mulling legislation introduced by Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Dan Burton, R-Ind., that would make it illegal to slaughter American horses.
About 100,000 horses were slaughtered each year before the processing plants in the United States closed. Now, tens of thousands of horses are transported across the borders to Mexico and Canada for slaughter, according to the Humane Society.
Froelich said he's not concerned about any potential opposition, noting other states such as Montana are considering similar legislation to confront what he said is a growing problem.
"If somebody has a solution other than what we're looking at, we want to know about it," Froelich said. "Where you can get an economic return for your animal, and you don't have to sit there and watch them suffer and die."

Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:35 pm (PST)
____________________________________
A BILL
<BTITLE>To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain conduct
relating to the use of horses for human cons
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009'.
SEC. 2. SLAUGHTER OF HORSES FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
(a) In General- Chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
`Sec. 50. Slaughter of horses for human consumption
`(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), whoever knowingly--
`(1) possesses, ships, transports, purchases, sells, delivers, or receives,
in or affecting interstate commerce or foreign commerce, any horse with the
intent that it is to be slaughtered for human consumption; or
`(2) possesses, ships, transports, purchases, sells, delivers, or receives,
in or affecting interstate commerce or foreign commerce, any horse flesh or
carcass or part of a carcass, with the intent that it is to be used for human
consumption;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years or
both.
`(b) If--
`(1) the defendant engages in conduct that would otherwise constitute an
offense under subsection (a);
`(2) the defendant has no prior conviction under this section; and
`(3) the conduct involves less than five horses or less than 2000 pounds of
horse flesh or carcass or part of a carcass;
the defendant shall, instead of being punished under that subsection, be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
`(c) As used in this section, the term `horse' means any member of the
family Equidae.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for chapter 3 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
`50. Slaughter of horses for human consumption.`5
Best regards,
Cheryl Hanna
Fundraising and Publicity
Another Chance 4 Horses, Inchttp://www.ac4h.com/

Note from Brandi: This came from AQHA’s QHN Insider Weekly (which I still for some reason get even though I cancelled my membership over a year ago!!!)

United Horsemen's FrontBy Katie Tims

David and Stephanie Duquette are about as politically incorrect as it gets. They support horse slaughter and are working hard to make sure the performance horse industry understands the ramifications of the ban that's been in place for a little over a year. They're not idealists. David and Stephanie understand that horse slaughter in the United States is done and will probably not come back.

David and Stephanie Duquette and sons

But the Duquettes do insist the ban on horse slaughter was just a first step in more legislation and regulation to come. Frustrated by what they perceived to be a lackadaisical attitude in the performance horse industry, David, a reined cow horse trainer in Oregon, and Stephanie, a former broadcast journalist, set out to inform and unite. They formed the United Horsemen's Front, an organization whose mission is to promote horse welfare and the well-being of the horse industry.Continue reading the full story here

A North Dakota lawmaker is pushing a bill that would set money aside to study whether the state should process unwanted horses.
Rep. Rod Froelich, D-Selfridge, is sponsoring a bill that would direct $100,000 to study the possibility of opening a processing plant - otherwise known as a slaughterhouse - for unwanted horses in North Dakota.
Froelich said in light of federal regulations, as well as Illinois and Texas closing the only horse processing plants in the nation, the number of abandoned horses has skyrocketed, while the plants that accept horses have moved to other countries.
"People used to have a market for unwanted horses," Froelich said. "The value of them has plummeted to nil."
He said without processing plants, it's become difficult for horse owners who have unwanted livestock to figure out what to do with them, which could lead to more horses being abandoned or forcing horse owners to euthanize them at a high cost.
If there were processing plants, the horse owner could at least sell the unwanted horse, Froelich said, adding his family owns one of the oldest horse ranches in North Dakota.
Congress also is mulling legislation introduced by Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Dan Burton, R-Ind., that would make it illegal to slaughter American horses.
About 100,000 horses were slaughtered each year before the processing plants in the United States closed. Now, tens of thousands of horses are transported across the borders to Mexico and Canada for slaughter, according to the Humane Society.
Froelich said he's not concerned about any potential opposition, noting other states such as Montana are considering similar legislation to confront what he said is a growing problem.
"If somebody has a solution other than what we're looking at, we want to know about it," Froelich said. "Where you can get an economic return for your animal, and you don't have to sit there and watch them suffer and die."

Massachusetts - show HR503 support

Hello horse lovers.
The effort to get a federal horse slaughter ban passed is underway now.
Congress has returned to a new session and many of us now again
actively work to get a federal ban on horse slaughter passed.
I will help by being the state coordinator for Massachusetts
residents who will be the 'army' that will be heard in Washington.
No one's taken this on before for MA under Americans Against Horse
Slaughter and I ask all concerned residents to please join us today.
As MA 'state coordinator', I'll be sending out action alerts, informational articles, and how-to's via email to those who would be able to give some time to getting the federal ban passed.
People will be able to help by calling, writing, or faxing our Massachusetts
senators and representatives and other officials when action is needed. When that need hits, you will receive an email prompt from me.
I'll provide the info, you run with it.
Supporters can revise or personalize any effort, and you can chose when or when not to participate.
This can be done during business hours or after hours since congressional offices all accept faxes, emails, or voicemails 24/7.
Helping is easy but very important, and the amount of noise we make
makes all the difference. Every voice counts.
Whether you can help occasionally, or more frequently, horses need you now.
You may just want to receive the emails for their informational benefit, but
I hope you'll be an active voice in this statewide group.
People are welcome to contact me with any questions any time . . .
but helping this effort will be simple enough and it will take as little or as much time as someone wants to give it.
Please help further by forwarding this request to any MA residents who might like
to be part of this effort. Reaching out farther will gain more for our side.
I hope you'll join us. We've got a lot to gain and everything to lose.
THANKS!Kathryn at MA4horses@gmail.com (MA4horses @ gmail.com)

Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:14 am (PST) http://www.savedahorses.org/id46.html
Folks this is very bad for our horses. tonight I reviewed the statics
for 2009 and nearly fell out of my seat in Tears...Now I ask everyone to
say a prayer ASAP that our bills pass and we can put this to an end..
yours truely Tommy

Sen. Conyers' Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act was re-introduced to
Congress on Jan. 14 as H.R.503. There are already a good number of
co-sponsors. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on the
Judiciary. This is the same bill that was introduced last summer by Rep.
Conyers, and proposes to end slaughter of America's horses, here and
abroad. We need to pursuade our Congressmen to support it. America has
not enacted any significant type of legislation that would protect our
domestic horses in many years. Please call or write your legislators,
especially those who are not currently supporting the bill. You can find
a list of co-sponsors on the web site www.endinghorseslaughter.com
<http://www.endinghorseslaughter.com/> (horse slaughter), along with
information to help you. We have a decent chance of getting this passed
during the current session and two years to get it done.
The bill to outlaw double-decker trailers was re-introduced as H.R.305
by Rep. Mark Steven Kirk of Illinois on Jan. 8, and is off to a slow
start with only 2 co-sponsors. This bill never really gained momentum in
the last session of Congress. There is no good reason to use
double-decker trailers--they are dangerous for people on the highways
and they are inhumane for the horses. The bill has been referred to the
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The BLM and Forestry Service are looking for three new members for the
Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. The Board is supposed to represent
a balance of interests, our interest being welfare and a future for the
horses and burros. Positions now being recruited are for Wildlife
Management, Humane Advocacy and Livestock Management. Previous members
include a school teacher who owned a wild horse, a rancher and the
manager of a wild horse rescue. Don't be afraid to apply! The Board is
comprised of 9 members who meet at least twice a year. They are
reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses. Any individual or
organization can nominate someone or can nominate themselves. The letter
of nomination must include nominee's name and address, profession,
relevant biographical information, references, endorsements and specific
category of interest. The information must be sent by Feb. 17 to the
National Wild Horse and Burro Program, Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior, P.O. Box 12000, Reno, NV 89520-006, Attn:
Ramona DeLorme, or Fax 775-861-6618. If you know of somebody interested
or are yourself interested, please give this consideration. If you need
help, e-mail me at endinghorseslaughter@live.com
(endinghorseslaughter @ live.com) .
Finally, for those who are able, please give a helping hand to the
rescue of your choosing. This has been a brutal winter and it's far from
over.
Barbara P.

Update:

Hi Folks,

I found out that after AWI put out that announcement Conyers withdrew the bill so that he could wait for the old number HR.503. I will let you know when that number is issued. It should be only a day or so. I'm sorry for any inconvenience.

John

Original info:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BILL TO END HORSE SLAUGHTER REINTRODUCED

Washington, DC (January 13, 2009) – The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 464), was reintroduced today by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Representative Dan Burton (R-IN). They first introduced the bill, which will ban horse slaughter, in the summer of 2008. It gained quick bipartisan support and passed out of the Judiciary Committee but did not move further as the legislative clock wound down. Committed to seeing the measure passed into law, Chairman Conyers has given the bill priority in his committee, as signaled by its reintroduction so early on the legislative calendar. With sixty-one original cosponsors, the bill already enjoys strong bipartisan support.

Although the few remaining horse slaughter plants operating in the US were shut down in 2007 under state law, the absence of a federal law banning the practice means that American horses are still at risk of being slaughtered for human consumption. In fact, more than 100,000 horses were exported to Mexico and Canada in 2008 for slaughter; In Canada horses are often shot to death while in Mexico some plants still use the “puntilla” knife to stab the horse into a state of paralysis prior to being slaughtered while still fully conscious. The meat is then sold to high-end consumers in Europe and Asia.

“There are naysayers who claim we should reopen the US plants rather than seek to ban all horse slaughter. Clearly, they’ve already forgotten how awful the plants here were,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of Government and Legal Affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute.

Documents recently released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal just how brutal conditions were at the US plants before they were shut down. Hundreds of graphic photographs taken by U.S. Department of Agriculture employees at one plant show live horses with missing legs, with eyeballs hanging out, with skin ripped from the body and the birth of foals at the plant. Other photos show horses dead on arrival, having succumbed to the miseries of transport.

“The suffering of hundreds of thousands of our horses rests solely on the shoulders of those blocking this bill. Were it not for their stalling tactics horse slaughter would have ceased years ago. Meanwhile an American horse is slaughtered every five minutes. We commend Chairman Conyers and Representative Burton for taking the lead once again to end this cruel practice through introduction of the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act,” said Heyde.

##30##

For further information contact:

Chris Heyde, 202-446-2142

Liz Ross, 202-497-6780

For over 58 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: http://www.awionline.org/joinus

UHC survey... DO NOT TAKE!!!! ...[Please take this survey on unwanted horses]

Subject: RE: [againstslaughter] Please take this survey on unwanted horses

This survey was created by the pro-slaughter groups (AQHA, AVMA, NCBA, Farm Bureaus) forming the so-called "unwanted horse coaliton" to prove their point. Stenholm and all the rats from Olssen, Frank and Weeda are de facto authors of the survey.
It is heavily tweaked and rigged to boost the pro-slaughter cause, leaving you little options to select that cannot be used later by them against us. Do not take this poll and warn others to not do so. Remember that even if you cheat to boost our side they will anyways doctor it before showing it off in Congress and releasing it in the media.
Daniel

Hi All: HORSES NEED VOTES... !!!GIVE YOUR VOTE FOR CHRISTMAS.!!
votes are only 175!!!!!!!!!
The "change" needs our votes on this site, and comments if you have time.!! Then please pass to all the horses friends.!!!
The puppy mills seem to be in first place in the voting, which is great too.!
Please pass to as many as you can, to get the votes up. This is on ABR, but is very slow. We all can do this for the horses for Christmas.!! It say an acct. is needed, but just your name and email and boom its done.
Please give the gift of a VOTE to the horses.!!!!!!!
After clicking on this link, the voting is on the LEFT SIDE.!!!!!!!!!! Link is below!!!!Date: Sunday, December 21, 2008, 2:43 PM

Please add this to your information on horse slaughter, preferably at the top because this is the issue in a nutshell:

"The Horse Slaughter Issue is about the Disposal of a NON-FOOD ANIMAL, the horse.
How are we going to kill and dispose of America's Horses, a NON-FOOD ANIMAL?
Are we going to kill and dispose of them via a method that is repulsive to the vast majority of Americans, a method that is against our culture - Slaughter, or are we going to kill and dispose of America's Horses via a method
that is in line with American Culture, and accepted by Americans -
Lethal Injection with burial, cremation, landfill, or rendering of the body. "

Christine Berry, Equine Protection Network
November 1, 2007

In the United States, the horse is considered a non-food animal, revered, and taxedas such. Non-food animals are killed via lethal injection and disposed of via burial, cremation, landfill, or rendering. Non-food animals are not butchered to meet a foreign demand for their meat. The question of horse slaughter in the United States is simple:

Are we going to kill and dispose of a non-food animal via a method that is accepted by American Culture, lethal injection or gunshot with disposal of the carcass by burial, cremation, landfill or rendering, or are we going to kill American Horses, non-food animals, via a method that is an affront to American Culture, slaughter, to meet a foreign demand for their meat?

If the United States continues to allow the slaughter and or the export of American Horses for slaughter, then all the state sales taxes on horses and related products must be repealed, as the United Statesdoes not tax food animals.

The states are not going to give up billions of dollars in revenue so less than 1% of the 2% of Americans who own horses can profit from the sale of their horse to slaughter. The horse slaughter issue is NOT about rescue - what are we going to do with all the horses - or cruelty, if slaughter ends the horses will be neglected or the collection, transport, and slaughter are cruel.

Even if for arguments sake those issues could be addressed to the satisfaction of both sides of the issue, we still come back to the fact that the horse in the United States is a NON-FOOD ANIMAL, thus allowing the States to impose state sales tax on horses and related products. Money is the issue here, and when we are talking about taxes we are talking about billions.

The rescues have allowed the pro slaughter forces to focus on, “What are we going to do with all the horses”, turning the issue into a rescue issue, which it is not. It is about the fact that we are allowing foreign interests to butcher a NON-FOOD ANIMAL against our American Culture and the vast majority of Americans. There will never be enough homes, there will always be neglect and abuse, and there will always be people who circumvent the law, none of which are the issue or a reason to allow the continued slaughter of a non-food animal at the same time that the animal and related products are taxed.

This is what the lawyers need to be working on right now to pass legislation to make the slaughter or export of American Horses illegal. Either the states repeal the state sales taxes on horses, or pass legislation outlawing the slaughter. Failing to do so will result in lawsuits against the States.

Thank you for your time and all your efforts to Save America’s Horses.

To say the pro-slaughter media blitz is in full gear is an understatement. You can't find a dead fish these days that isn't wrapped in a ridiculous pro-slaughter article. We all know the talking points about unintended consequences and unwanted horses. But there is a major and well financed effort to bring slaughter back to the US as being a more humane alternative. We now have the ammunition to blow that lie out of the water.

TV Station KHOU has done a powerful piece on the USDA cruelty documents that Julie Caramante and Animal's Angels received through her FOIA. It features Steve Long and Julie and it is both powerful and graphic, but it is precisely the weapon we need. We need to promote the heck out of this story!

Records show that nearly 50,000 U.S. horses have been transported to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for slaughter and ultimately destined for the dinner tables in Europe and Japan.

Believe it or not, Long isn’t talking about the slaughtering practices in Mexico, although he finds them disturbing.

Long is talking about the horse slaughter industry, that until recently, thrived here in Texas and the United States.

“This is the biggest animal rights scandal since the Michael Vick case. This is slaughtergate,” said Long.

In fact, records show that there are two Belgian owned horse slaughtering facilities in the state. He says one of the facilities, Dallas Crowe, is in Kaufman, Texas and that the other facility, Beltex, is located in Fort Worth.

In 2006, 11 News reported that employees at both facilities used captive bolt guns and air guns on the horses instead of knives. That technique involves driving a steel bolt into a the brain of a horse.

Julie Caramante is an animal cruelty investigator for the organization called Animal’s Angels and she often works undercover.

She said that it took her three years to obtain photos that document violations of the transportation of horses taken to Beltex between January and November of 2005.

“I saw horses that were dead in trailers, with their legs ripped off, with their faces smashed in, eyeballs dangling, and these horses, some of them were still alive. They were just standing there,” said Caramante.

Many of the injuries reportedly occurred when the horses were transported on double-decker trailers designed to haul cattle.

The U.S. banned that type of action last year, but there’s a loophole, said Caramante. She says that the double-deckers can still be used to haul horses thousands of miles to feedlots, like the one in Morton, Texas. It’s owned by the Belgian company, Beltex.

“They feed them and get them fattened up. The ones that live go to El Paso and then off to the plant in Mexico,” said Caramante.

While it’s currently illegal to slaughter horses for human consumption in Texas, 11 News has found that at least two states are considering measures that would make it legal.

Those who support horse slaughter say they’d like to see it resume here in the U.S. because of laws that protect horses from cruelty. They say it is a well regulated industry that provided humane euthanasia.

“Such things are laughable. And it would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. U.S. humane laws have done nothing for the horse,” said Long.

The recent ban on horse slaughter in the US has only increased the
trade in Canada - a business that Canadians want to see end and we
need your support.
Forwarded with permission from the Facebook Group - BAN HORSE
SLAUGHTER IN CANADA...
Subject: Your Help is Now Needed! Call to Action!
So many of you have asked how and when you can help end the suffering
of horses
going to slaughter.
I can finally give you an answer!
Letters of support of our cause are needed immediately!
Especially letters that are on 'powerful letterhead' (from companies
or well
known organizations/individuals).
Letters can be sent via email to
banhorseslaughter@...
or can be mailed to
Horsemen For Humanity c/o WAT
319 Victoria St.N
Kitchener, ON N2H 5E1
Canada
Letters should be limited to one page and make a simple statement that you
support ending horse slaughter in Canada or at least the cruelty
associated with
it.
Time is of the essence so please don't wait!
This is important and is required for our upcoming MP meeting!
Don't wait. Do it today! Ask your friends, your boss, your neighbors.
Get your barn to do up a Barn Letter and have it signed on behalf of the
boarders.
Seek out the prominent people in your community and ask them to take 5
minutes
to write a simple statement letter.
We can do this but your HELP IS NEEDED!
If you haven't seen the video (not graphic) that has so many people
talking,
please watch it nowhttp://news.therecord.com/videogallery/451314
Don't let this opportunity slide and think that other people will do
it. Think
of your horse, being sold and ending up in a kill pen.
The horse I bought from the kill auction on Tuesday was sold as a
yearling for
$64,000. On Tuesday she was only worth 32 cents a pound! Her former
owner was
tracked and she was deeply distraught over the news that this
wonderfully bred
ex-racehorse ended up in the kill auction! This could happen to your
horse!
Write the letter!
Thanks in advance
Ellie
Horsemen for Humanity
Sent by John Freeman, volunteer Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society

Fri Dec 5, 2008 9:38 am (PST)
If you are unable to view this release, click here:http://www.awionline.org/news/2008/hill_letter_blm.htm
AWILogoGreen363.jpg
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Congressional Leaders Send Message to Bureau of Land Management
Don't Even Think About Killing America's Wild Horses and Burros
Washington, D.C. (December 4, 2008) - Joining with a growing public chorus
of outrage at a recent proposal by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and
their Wild Horse Advisory board to euthanize up to 33,000 wild horses,
several leaders in the US House of Representatives sent a letter to the
agency stressing their strong opposition to any such effort.
Today, Congressman Nick Rahall, chairman of the House Natural Resources
Committee and Congressman Raul Grijalva, chairman of the National Parks,
Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee sent a letter to James Caswell,
director of the Bureau of Land Management.
The chairmen said, "We continue to be concerned about your agency's proposal
to deal with problems facing the Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse and
Burro Program by defaulting to a policy of mass euthanization of thousands
of healthy horses. As recently as November 17, the Wild Horse Advisory Board
and the BLM continue to support mass euthanization, even considering options
to expand sale authority in ways that will lead to the extermination of more
horses. The policy is not a solution - it is a failure."
This powerful letter comes on the heels of an announcement by Madeleine
Pickens in which she as stepped forward to provide a permanent and safe home
to those horses in BLM holding facilities to ensure they are not killed as
the agency tries to balance its books. "Mrs. Pickens is one of the most
generous and compassionate individuals I have ever known," said Chris Heyde,
deputy director of Government and Legal Affairs for the Animal Welfare
Institute. "Mrs. Pickens is acting out of pure selflessness. She has been
a long time fighter for America's horses and her commitment to protecting
these national treasures is historic."
In 1971, the American public and US Congress had to come to the rescue of
America's wild horses who were being wiped out by the BLM by enacting the
Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Thirty-seven years later, they are
both coming to aid of them again from the mismanagement by the very same
agency. There are many other options in dealing with wild horses on public
lands and AWI will be working closely with Congress and other organizations
to ensure the Agency is fixed so our horses and the public are not in this
situation in a few years.
##30##
For More Information:
Animal Welfare <http://www.awionline.org/news/2008/blm_kills_horses.htm>
Institute Condemns BLM Proposal to Kill Thousands of Wild Horses in Holding
Facilities
Managing
<http://www.awionline.org/legislation/wild_horses/managing_for_extinction.ht
m> for Extinction: Shortcomings of the Bureau of Land Management's National
Wild Horse and Burro Program
Contact:
Chris Heyde, (202) 337-2332
For over 57 years, the Animal Welfare Institute has been the leading voice
for animals across the country and on Capitol Hill to reduce the sum total
of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. To learn more about us,
please visit www.awionline.org.
********************
Christopher J. Heyde
Deputy Director, Government and Legal Affairs
Animal Welfare Institute
PO Box 3650
Washington, DC 20027
Tel: (202) 337-2332 ~ Fax: (888) 260-2271www.awionline.org <http://www.awionline.org/> www.compassionindex.org <http://www.compassionindex.org/>
For over 57 years, AWI has been the leading voice for animals across the
country and on Capitol Hill. Please join us in our ongoing campaigns to
reduce the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans. Sign
up for AWI eAlerts to receive the latest news on what you can do to help us
protect all animals: http://www.awionline.org/joinus.
Please consider the animals and their habitat before printing.

Results from Freedom of Information Request show severe abuse previously undisclosed: New data provides over nine hundred reasons for the urgent passage of bill banning the slaughter of American horses.

Animals' Angels, an animal welfare organization based in Maryland, last week received over 900 pages of documents and photographs from the United States Department of Agriculture taken during part of 2005 at the Beltex horse slaughter plant in Texas. Documents received 36 months after making a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, reveal an appalling number of incidences and an equally appalling degree of suffering sustained by horses. Evidence indicates alarming cruelty corresponding directly to horse slaughter.

The large FOIA document contains hundreds of photographs that graphically depict horses with open fractures, legs missing, battered and bloody faces, eyeballs dangling and what appears to be horses left to bleed to death. The document provides unimpeachable evidence for the immediate ban on the slaughter of American horses.

The photographs included in the FOIA document were taken between January 17, 2005 and November 17, 2005 at Beltex, the Belgian owned plant in Fort Worth, Texas. Beltex was forced to close this plant in 2007, after courts upheld Texas law that has banned horse slaughter since 1949. Beltex has since focused on its operations in Fresnillo, Mexico where it continues to slaughter American horses. In addition, Beltex still runs the second largest slaughter horse feedlot in the U.S. Horses from all over the country are tranported to the feedlot in Morton,TX before being sent to the Beltex slaughter plant in Mexico.

The FOIA request was submitted by Animals' Angels investigator Julie Caramante in November 2005 "I've been an equine cruelty investigator for a number of years," said Caramante, "and I've witnessed many horrific incidents of animal cruelty. But nothing could prepare me for the images contained in the FOIA. These pictures shocked me to the core. The pain and terror these horses endured is criminal. This just should not be, no excuses." In commenting on the photographs, Sonja Meadows, Executive Director of Animals' Angels USA said:

"The pro-horse slaughter lobby continues to lobby for the domestic slaughter of horses, railing that transportation and slaughter of horses inside the United States is ever so much better, so much more humane than what happens in Mexico. These people say that U.S. humane laws protect the horses, that Mexico has no such laws. But this rhetoric is now exposed as nothing but disingenuous talk. The FOIA reveals unimaginable suffering was being perpetuated upon large numbers of horses on a long-term basis here in the U.S. We can only shudder at the scale of the suffering over the years. Animals' Angels will be investigating what actions were taken against those responsible for this horrific abuse."Meadows is firm in her support of a Federal ban of horse slaughter. "From our own weekly investigations at auctions, feedlots and slaughter plants, the barbaric and inhumane treatment of horses goes on and will continue to do so until a Federal law is passed to end once and for all, the transportation and slaughter of horses for human consumption. The horse has played such an important part in the history of the United States and continues to be such an integral part in the lives of millions of its citizens. It is well overdue, past time for Congress to act and to pass a law to bring this miserable trade in horses for human consumption to an end."Animals' Angels continues to send out its investigators to expose the abuse and suffering of horses and to ensure that those responsible within this brutal industry are held accountable for their actions. "However difficult and traumatic these investigations are," said Meadows, "Animals' Angels will remain true to its motto - 'We are there with the animals'"

Further information, video and pictures.... Notes to Editors:1. In 2007, the slaughter of horses on US soil came to an end when a court ruling upheld a Texas law banning horse slaughter, and similar legislation was passed in Illinois.However, failure by the US Senate to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act into law has resulted in American horses still being slaughtered for human consumption abroad. Tens of thousands are shipped to Mexico and Canada annually, where they are killed under inhumane conditions so their meat can be sent to markets in Belgium, France, Italy and Japan.Additionally, without the federal law, there remains the threat of horse slaughter plants being established in states that have no laws against the practice. In the beginning of 2008, unsuccessful attempts were made to open a horse slaughter plant in South Dakota. It is likely that pro-horse slaughter organizations will try again elsewhere in the United States. While a handful of horses are purposely sold into slaughter by irresponsible owners, most arrive at the slaughter plant via livestock auction, where unsuspecting owners sell the animals to slaughter plant middlemen known as "killer buyers". Despite the fact that the US plants are no longer in operation, killer buyers continue to purchase and haul as many horses as possible from livestock auctions around the country to the slaughterhouses that have now relocated to Mexico and Canada.

On the 24th July 2008, the Prevention of Equines Cruelty Act of 2008 (H.R. 6598) was introduced to the 110th Congress by Rep. John Conyers and Representative Dan Burton. H.R. 6598 prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States and the export of slaughter horses to Canada and Mexico.

2. Animals' Angels is a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization incorporated in Maryland with fulltime investigators working in the United States and Canada. Our focus is on improving conditions for farm animals. We work primarily in the field, trailing livestock trucks on highways, visiting markets, collecting stations and slaughterhouses. We seek to cooperate with auction managers, transport companies and other authorities, including the police, veterinarians and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in West Virginia has notified horsemen they will lose stalls and may be excluded from the track if any horses racing at Mountaineer end up at the Sugarcreek auction in Ohio, the Amish-run livestock sale where many horses end up in the hands of killer buyers and headed for slaughter facilities in Canada or Mexico.

The new policy appeared on aTuesday overnight entry sheetat the Chester, W. Va., track. Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston, Mass., was a pioneer in instituting a policy to prevent horses going to slaughter auctions, and Magna Entertainment recently adopted a company-wide policy at its tracks.

Mountaineer also is instituting a ban on toe grabs in excess of two millimeters in height on the front feet. That policy takes effect Dec. 1.

Thanks to the Paulick Report reader who brought this new policy at Mountaineer to our attention.

Hello.
The effort to get a federal horse slaughter ban passed is currently
quiet as Congress is now in recess for the Nov 4 elections. When they
return to session many of us will again actively work to get this ban
passed. Will you join us?
Every person counts and that's why I write today. A huge thanks to
Beth for all that she does and for her support of my posting here on
her site in my relentless pursuit of horse activists.
I will help by being a state coordinator for MA residents who will be
the 'army' that will be heard in Washington. No one's taken this on
before for MA under Americans Against Horse Slaughter. If someone has
already been organizing on behalf of the ban, I'd love to hear from
them and would love even more working with them for this.
As MA 'state leader', I'll be sending out action alerts,
informational articles, and how-to's via email to those who would be
able to give some time to getting the federal ban passed. Changes to
congressional seats and a new president make the upcoming time very
exciting and promising for this effort, but we're also focusing on
current opportunities for this bill during a `lame duck'
congressional session after the Nov 4 election. We may not have the
lobbying monies others can promise congressmen but we are being heard
very clearly and every effort makes congress hear us better.
People will be able to help by calling, writing, or faxing our MA
senators and representatives when action is needed. When that need
hits, you will receive an email prompt from me. I'll provide the
info, you run with it. Supporters can revise or personalize any
effort, and can chose when or when not to participate.
This can be done during business hours or after hours since
congressional offices all accept faxes, emails, or voicemails 24/7.
Helping is easy but very important, and the amount of noise we make
makes all the difference. Every voice counts. Whether you can help
occasionally, or more frequently, that will be a big help. Maybe you
just want to receive the emails for their informational benefit. I
hope you'll consider being part of my group list.
I'm available to help answer any questions anytime. Helping this
effort will be simple enough and it will take as little or as much
time as someone wants to give it. Just reply to me, and tell me who
your Washington representative is. If you don't know yours, I can
help with that. I'll need to know what town you're registered to vote
in and/or live in.
This state-based effort is in cooperation with Americans Against
Horse Slaughter, and also with key players who are absolute saints in
this effort.
Please consider forwarding this info to any MA residents who might
like to be part of this effort. Reaching out farther will gain more
for our side, so thanks for that. If you're pro-slaughter or want to
argue for argument's sake, find somebody else to harass, it ain't me.
Thanks for helping get a federal horse slaughter ban passed. I hope
you'll join us. We've got a lot to gain and everything to lose.
Feel free to ask questions or PM me, it's that easy. Thanks, Beth!
Kathryn

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lorri Roush Shaver" <glacier-lake@comcast.net>
To: <AnotherChance4Horses@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 1:41 PM
Subject: [AnotherChance4Horses] Bad News - 6598 will NOT be voted on...
We have received some very sad but not unexpected news from HSUS
....
Due to the financial crisis situation taking up so much time and
resources, it is very unlikely that the House will be addressing HR 6598
this year. We anticipate it being re-introduced at the beginning of the
111th Congressional session in January 2009.
However, there is something you can do NOW. With the election coming up
in November, make sure you elect legislators that will allow this to
pass next year. Do your homework, find out where your candidates stand
and let your voices be heard on this issue. With the right people in
office, we can prevail.
The second thing you can do is to continue to spread awareness about
horse slaughter. As we've all found out, most Americans still do not
even know this exists. The more people that know, the louder the outrage
will be.
On a personal note, we want to thank everyone for making such a valiant
effort. You all have done the most phenomenal job...no one could
have done more. It is your hard work and perseverance that will make it
easier to get this bill introduced very early in the next session.
This is a heartbreaking setback, but we will move forward until it's
done. We are still, and always will be, Barbaro's Voice..let it
be heard.
Shelley and Deb
Americans Against Horse Slaughter

“Can you, please, take a moment to correct these misstatements and protest
the fact that a university has chosen a proslaughter stance and send your
email to the Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon atpresmail@msu.edu or Phone 517-355-6560 or also fax your email to Fax
517-355-4670. Postal mail address: Office of the President, Michigan State
University, 450 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1046 and
demand that the university set an example of compassion for the horse and
blast out of the water any of the outrageous claims Camie Heleski, Ph.D. is
stating in her email below:”

Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:42 pm (PDT)
From: Bonnie Oliver
Date: 9/26/2008 5:16:19 PM
To: againstslaughter@yahoogroups.com
Cc: tbindustrymonitor@yahoogroups.com
Subject: PLEASE READ and CROSS POST.
Posting for the founder of CANTER MI........Jo Anne Normile Normilejw@aol
com
Please read the below outrageous pro-slaughter email below sent by Camie
Heleski, PhD, Coordinator, MSU Horse Management Program, email heleski@msu
edu She sent this out apparently while involved with a group called
United Horsemen's Front with agreement from a university that operates on
Michigan taxpayers dollars! How dare they! Plus the information supplied by
Camie Heleski is totally incorrect!! How can a university support such
lies instead of showing compassion for the horses? The AQHA is behind this
no doubt! So do they provide more donations to the university than the
taxpayers so that's why they are joining them in trying to stop the Conyers'
bill?
Can you, please, take a moment to correct these misstatements and protest
the fact that a university has chosen a proslaughter stance and send your
email to the Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon atpresmail@msu.edu or Phone 517-355-6560 or also fax your email to Fax
517-355-4670. Postal mail address: Office of the President, Michigan State
University, 450 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1046 and
demand that the university set an example of compassion for the horse and
blast out of the water any of the outrageous claims Camie Heleski, Ph.D. is
stating in her email below:
Hi,
I think we need to be tenacious on this until it (hopefully) dies in
committee.
Thanks,
Camie
Envelope-to: heleski@msu.edu
Reply-To: <info@unitedhorsemensfront.org>
From: "United Horsemen's Front" <info@unitedhorsemensfront.org>
To: <info@unitedhorsemensfront.org>
Subject: United Horsemen's Front Action Alert #3! Your input needed again
on HR 6598
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:38:56 -0700
Organization: United Horsemen's Front
Alert #3: Horsemen, Be Heard!
If you are involved in the horse industry, this is important to you!
If you care about the welfare of horses, this is important to you!
This alert is provided by United Horsemen’s Front, a horse industry-based
group. More information about us can be found at www.UnitedHorsemensFront
org.
Another markup session on HR 6598 has been scheduled by the full House
Judiciary Committee for Tuesday, September 23!
We need you to contact your elected leaders and members of the House
Judiciary Committee again­with the same message you successfully delivered
twice before. A FAX message is the most effective. Contact information for
the House Judiciary Committee is listed below. We have added a link to a web
site that will identify YOUR senators and congressmen­even if they are not
on the judiciary committee, THEY need to hear the horse industry’s voice as
well.
H.R. 6598 is damaging to the welfare of horses and the horse industry. If
enacted into law, this bill would make it a federal crime to buy, sell, own
or transport a horse, alive or dead, with the intent to use it for human
consumption. The crime would be punishable with a fine and up to three years
in prison.
This bill would further complicate the plight of horses and horse-related
businesses following the closure of U.S. processing plants. As written, this
bill would make it possible for you to get pulled over any time you
trailered your horse anywhere, and be made to prove you were not taking it
to slaughter.
H.R. 6598 stems from animal rights activists’ misguided and damaging efforts
to permanently ban horse slaughter . The anti-slaughter movement campaigns
on emotion, ignores the facts, and denies the unintended consequences of the
ban. Since the last U.S. processing plant was closed almost a year ago,
horses have been abandoned in greater numbers; many more horses now suffer
inhumane journeys and painful deaths at slaughter facilities outside our
borders; and honest, hard-working people involved in the horse industry find
their livelihood in danger.
The animal rights movement has a well established and well-funded political
machine already in place. Its voice is drowning out the voice of the horse
industry. We, the people who care the most and know the most about horses
and their management, should have the greatest influence on the laws that
affect our industry and the animals we are devoted to.
Please! Take a moment right now to contact lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Here
is a suggested message to cut-and-paste into an email. For the committee
members who do not have an email address, this message can be pasted into a
new Word document and faxed to the numbers below:
Subject: Please vote NO on HR 6598
Dear House Judiciary Committee Member:
I am a voter and horseman who strongly opposes H.R. 6598. I believe in
humane treatment for all horses, and this bill would add greater suffering
to the al ready dire situation facing horses and horse owners following the
closure of the last U.S. horse processing plant. Without this option,
unwanted horses are condemned to neglect, abandonment or agonizing death in
unregulated slaughterhouses outside our borders. Those of us who make a
living in the horse industry have seen the market value of horses plummet.
There are approximately 100,000 unwanted horses in this country every year.
Who will care for them? Where will they go? Slaughter provides a humane,
federally regulated and cost-effective option for owners of sick, old, or
dangerous horses. Furthermore, this bill violates horse owners’ basic rights
by taking away the option to sell a horse for a minimum price.
Please consider the cruel and unrealistic effects of this legislation, and
vote NO on H.R. 6598 and any similar legislation.
Sincerely,
(your name)
(your address)
(your phone number)
The following committee members have email addresses: Click on this link
and enter your address for YOUR elected leaders’ contact info: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress
John Conyers (MI) John.conyers@mail.house.gov
Howard Berman (CA) howard.berman@mail.house.gov
Rick Boucher (VA) ninthnet@mail.house.gov
Bill Delahunt (MA) william.delahunt@mail.house.gov
Anthony Weiner (NY) weiner@mail.house.gov
Howard Coble (NC) howard.coble@mail.house.gov
Chris Cannon (UT) cannon.ut03@mail.house.gov
These committee members list phone/fax contact information.:
Lamar Smith (TX) Ranking Member Tel: 202-225-4236 Fax: 202-225-8628
John Sensenbrenner (WI) Tel: 202-225-5101 Fax: 202-225-3190
Jerry Nadler (NY) Tel: 202-225-5635 Fax: 202-225-6923
Bobby Scott (VA) Tel: 202-225-8351 Fax: 202-225-8354
Elton Gallegly (CA) Tel: 202-225-5811 Fax: 202-225-1100
Melvin Watt (NC) Tel: 202- 225-1510 Fax: 202-225-1512
Bob Goodlatte (VA) Tel: 202-225-5431 Fax: 202-225-9681
Zoe Lofgren (CA) Tel: 202-225-3072 Fax: 202-225-3336
Steve Chabot (OH) Tel: 202-225-2216 Fax: 202-225-3012
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) Tel: 202-225-3816 Fax: 202-225-3317
Dan Lungren (CA) Tel: 202-225-5716 Fax: 202-226-1298
Maxine Waters (CA) Tel: 202-225-2201 Fax: 202-225-7854
Ric Keller (FL) Tel: 202-225-2176 Fax: 202-225-0999
Robert Wexler (FL) Tel: 202-225-3001 Fax: 202-225-5974
Darrell Issa (CA) Tel: 202-225-3906 Fax: 202-225-3303
Linda Sanchez (CA) Tel: 202-225-6676 Fax: 202-226-1012
Mike Pence (IN) Tel: 202-225-3021 Fax: 202-225-3382
Steve Cohen (TN) Tel: 202-225-3265 Fax: 202-225-5663
Randy Forbes (VA) Tel: 202-225-6365 Fax: 202-226-1170
Hank Johnson (GA) Tel: 202-225-1605 Fax: 202-226-0691
Steve King (IA) Tel: 202-225-4426 Fax: 202-225-3193
Betty Sutton (OH) Tel: 202-225-3401 Fax: 202-225-2266
Tom Feeney (FL) Tel: 202-225-2706 Fax: 202-226-6299
Luis Gutierrez (IL) Tel: 202-225-8203 Fax: 202-225-7810
Trent Franks (AZ) Tel: 202-225-4576 Fax: 202-225-6328
Brad Sherman (CA) Tel: 202-225-5911 Fax: 202-225-5879
Louie Gohmert (TX) Tel: 202-225-3035 Fax: 202-225-5866
Tammy Baldwin (WI) Tel: 202-225-2906 Fax: 202-225-6942
Jim Jordan (OH) Tel: 202-225-2676 Fax: 202-226-0577
Adam Schiff (CA) Tel: 202-225-4176 Fax: 202-225-5828
Artur Davis (AL) Tel: 202-225-2665 Fax: 202-226-9567
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL) Tel: 202-225-7931 Fax: 202-226-2052
Keith Ellison (MN) Tel: 202-225-4755 F ax: 202-225-4886
Camie Heleski, Ph.D.
Coordinator, MSU Horse Management Program www.equine.ans.msu.edu, www.canr.msu.edu/agtech/
1250 Anthony Hall, Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824 USA heleski@msu.edu
Research interests: Horse Behavior & Welfare; Horse-human interaction
International Society for Equitation Science www.equitationscience.com

Equine Slaughter Gets Another Blow
The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 passes House Judiciary
Committee
September 25, 2008
The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 6598), a bill that would
criminalize the sale and transportation of horses for the purposes of
slaughter, was approved and recommended to the House of Representatives by
the House Judiciary Committee on September 23. The bill passed by a voice
vote.
The bill must still be passed by the House and Senate before it can become
law, but it’s re-energized the issue of horse slaughter in this country.
While there are currently no equine slaughter facilities in the United
States, thousands of American horses are exported for slaughter to Mexico
and Canada each year. H.R. 6598 would make horse transport to these
countries for slaughter illegal.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), a non-profit group that supports passage
of The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, has publicly commended the bill’s
sponsors--Committee Chairman John Conyers, lead cosponsor Representative Dan
Burton and Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott--for their “swift shepherding”
of the legislation through the Judiciary Committee.
“By moving this bill, Chairman Conyers, lead cosponsor Representative Burton
and Representative Scott are acting in line with the more than 70 percent of
Americans who oppose the senseless slaughter of our nation’s horses,” says
Chris Heyde, AWI deputy director of government and legal affairs. “But
opponents of this legislation persist in their attempts to mislead the
public, and make horses pawns in their political games.”
The American Quarter Horse Association, American Veterinary Medical
Association (AVMA), American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP),
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Cattlemen's Beef
Association (NCBA), among many others, oppose the bill.
According to a statement from the AQHA, “The majority of horses processed
for slaughter in the United States [prior to slaughterhouse closures in this
country] were no longer viable for their intended use, unmanageable or
simply unwanted by their owners. This bill would severely limit the rights
of owners to manage their private property and subject horse owners to
criminal prosecution should they sell or transport their horses for
processing for human consumption, even if that is not their intention.”
“Our opponents love to suggest that horse slaughter is a necessary evil,
without which the country will be overrun with a 100,000 horses annually,”
Heyde counters. “That’s ludicrous. This isn’t a humane disposal service for
sick and old horses; it’s a predatory business that is making a profit off
the death of healthy horses.”
In the last Congress, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a
bipartisan bill banning horse slaughter for human consumption by a vote of
263 to 146. The bill was not taken up by the Senate before the end of the
congressional session and has languished since. http://horsechannel.com/horse-news/2008/09/25/equine-slaughter-bill.aspx
Beth...
*If I do not get right back to you, it's because I'm swamped! I will shortly
(: www.NewEnglandEquineRescues.Comhttp://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/NewEnglandEquineRescues (board) www.newenglandequinerescues.com/availablehorses.htm (available) newenglandequinerescues@hotmail.com (paypal address)
"I mop up. I clean up the mess left by morons who just have to breed their mare." - Kill buyer Manny Phelps

Hi Folks,

I rarely send out the latest news on horse slaughter as so many good people have now taken on that task. However, I received this from our friend Shelley Grainger in Canada. It is extremely interesting. Natural Valley is the huge plant that Cavel's Belgian parent company Velda contracted to do their slaughtering when they were run out of Illinois. They have been slaughtering a staggering number of our horses. They have also been dumping their heads and leftovers on the open plain as documented by Animal Angels and they were of course exposed by the CBC for their cruelty. Now they are on the rocks financially.

The question is why? It is possible that the business is just not profitable enough given that their two facilities are four times the size of Cavel. We can all hope that is the explanation. But I will warn everyone that it might not be. This could be a tactic by Velda to steal the company from its original investors.

The horse meat business is very profitable, but traditionally the profit was always taken when the meat arrived in the EU and the US based plants were run near break-even to avoid taxes. It is possible that they did this to the Natural Valley plant to drive them to this point and then buy them. That would be very bad news.

If we are lucky and Natural Valley goes down or changes back to cattle, it will have a huge impact on our Canadian exports of horses.

It’s a good day for horses! Please lend your voice and passion to the momentum of the final push to

banhorse slaughter.

This is the final push for this Congressional Session to finally end horse slaughter!! If this bill fails, we will have to start all over inJanuary 2009!

H.R. 6598 , the Prevention ofEquineCruelty Act, passed the House Judiciary Committee today (by avoice vote) and we have very little time to help move this bill through the legislative process. We URGENTLY need
to build up the co-sponsorship list of H.R. 6598, which currently has 100 co-sponsors. Time is RUNNING OUT for Members to co-sponsor this bill ! Please click here to see if your U.S. Representative is a co-sponsor of H.R. 6598.

WASHINGTON — Horse activists are still waiting on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to finish revisions on a bill that could put an end to horse transportation to foreign slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.

The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 was to be reviewed by the committee on Wednesday morning, but was delayed until further notice because of revisions that were discussed at the same hearing.

The proposed bill would prohibit the selling of horses for human consumption in the United States and the transportation of horses for slaughter to Mexico and Canada.

Various South Florida horse rescue organizations including the Treasure Coast Riding Club have been actively participating in horse rescuing missions. The Treasure Coast Riding Club has sponsored about four rescue volunteer missions and promotes horse adoption within the club.

Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:41 am (PDT)
----- Original Message -----
From: jswan0415@aol.com
To: againstslaughter@yahoogroups.com ; FoalRescueFoundation@yahoogroups.com ; FoalTeams@yahoogroups.com ; anotherchance4horses@yahoogroups.com ; floridaequineandmore@yahoogroups.com ;
EquineRescueScams@yahoogroups.com ; kdane@hsus.org
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 9:24 AM
Subject: [AnotherChance4Horses] Horse Slaughter - WHo is supporting it.. WHy? Some answers
PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST
HORSE SLAUGHTER FOR PROFIT
OUR COUNTRY SAYS THAT’S OKAY?
West Palm Beach, Florida, September 19, 2008 Senator Goodlatte made a statement that the horse rescues in our country can only take in 7000 horses. Where did these numbers come from, what research was done? With all the funding in our government, is there not enough to hire someone to do proper research? This is far from the truth. Our one rescue takes in 250 to 300 horses a year. The horses do not live here forever. They are rehabbed if needed and then re-homed. Many do not need rehabbing; they just need to find a good home. There are over 550-horse rescues in the country, his numbers do not add up. Lest not forget the over 10,000 organization that are equine based or use equines in their program, some have memberships of over 5 million and we have over 4.6 million horse owners in the US. You want us to believe the horses cannot be absorbed and utilized. That is a lie. Yes some horses are old and infirmed and need to be
put down but we have learned that is less than 5% of the horses going to slaughter every year. Based on last years figures of horse slaughter that would account for 4500 horses per year. You want an answer to that? Responsible horse owners should have enough money (approximately $125 to $200) to humanely euthanize their horses. If you do not have the funds for that, possibly you should not own a horse. How can we have laws in our country that are based on incorrect facts and figures?
Charlie Stenholm wants us to believe that horses bound for slaughter are old and infirmed, when the facts are less than 5% are old and infirmed. The majority of the horses are young, healthy and in good flesh. How can someone who has a financial position in an issue be a credible source of information? It has been reported that Charlie Stenholm receives $3.00 for every horse that goes to slaughter. With 90,000 horses going to slaughter that is a very nice additional income. Are we really expected to believe that the slaughterhouses are going to give him a bonus of $3.00 per horse for old and infirmed horses? Come on. I recently heard a phrase “the dumbing of America.” How about giving us a little credit.
The AQHA, (American Quarter Horse Association) has notably been pro-slaughter. Quarterhorses and Thoroughbreds are the most sought after for human consumption. One would think that an association representing either one of these breeds would do whatever they can to protect them from this cruel act. Now this is not the most ironic part of this story. Recently, Bill Brewer, who has served as Executive Vice President to the AQHA for 16 year’s gave a speech at the AQHA 2008 Convention. In that speech he stated the following when referring to the decrease in registrations ad transfers, “That’s never happened before as membership has almost always been tied to registrations and transfers. What that begins to tell us is that our members are staying connected and involved. However, because of the market conditions I described earlier they are doing so with the same number – or fewer – horses.” Then he went on to state the AQHA has
an idea for an answer to this problem. This somewhat changes AQHA’s role in the industry because we have always assumed that we don’t “control” the supplier – in our case that would be breeders. But perhaps there are things the Association can do to encourage people to breed enough good horses to meet today’s demands. Now this is a pro-slaughter advocate, did he say in one sentence that there are fewer quarterhorses and they need to find a way to encourage breeding. Isn’t one of the arguments fro pro-slaughter that we have too many horses and isn’t one of the problems over-breeding? So in essence, not only is the AQHA condoning horse slaughter but it will aid in their new registrations. Here is a thought. The reason there are less transfers are because the quarthorses are going to slaughter, and we are making it easier and easier for individuals to just dispose of their horses with no regard to their welfare. But then
again with a new baby born, the AQHA not only receives funds for a new registration and that fee but quite possibly a new member also. I guess this is not ethnic cleansing but it could be construed as “breed cleansing” for profit.
When in our country did we decide that the individuals or the organizations that have an apparent and obvious gain in a situation are allowed to govern the laws in their favor? When have we decided that abusive and inhumane treatment to an animal is acceptable because some individuals are making a profit off of the cruel and inhumane treatment? When did we decide to encourage abuse and neglect of animals and allow it to be hidden under the guise of “slaughter” What is this country coming to? When will we say ENOUGH?
Jennifer SwansonJswan0415@aol.comwww.PTHR.org
Jennifer Swanson
Pure Thoughts Inc.
Horse & Foal Rescuewww.PTHR.org
19181 Capet Creek
Loxahatchee, FL 33470
Saving the life of a horse may not change the world...........
........but it will change that horse's world.

I e-mailed the first 7 "horse rescues" I googled. This is the e-mail I sent them all:
was wondering if I picked up a trailer load of abandoned horses at the stockyards would you be willing to take them?
Thanks
Shelli
6 of them never replied. 1 Did only to say they were full.
There's some facts for you.

PLEASE CROSS POST :
We need comments ASAP.
Both the ABC and NBC local affiliates here in Palm Beach covered the vote for H.R. 6598. We need to get the grassroots campaign going to let them know we want more info and to please cover more of this story.
Channel 5 NBC
?reporter email:?Jennifer Rivera:??jrivera@wptv.com?
WPTV Station Email Contact: pnroghaar@wptv.com
Phone:( 561) 655-5455
Channel 25 ABC:
To Make Comment: http://www.wpbf.com/station/index.html
To Call: 561-694-2525
It does not matter if you live in the viewing area. Tell them you heard that the station was reporting on the bill H.R. 6598 and you want to thank them and ask them to continue their coverage of this NATIONAL ISSUE.
In order to get something like this picked up nationally there has to be a large audience reaction to a local story. We have our foot in the door here. We have TWO TV Stations that have reported on this today and they both are partnered up with CNN. Come On Everyone Consider This Part of The Call In Day!! Do It For The Horses!
Sincerely,
Laura Boothby
Pure Thoughts, Incwww.pthr.orghttp://astand4thehorses.blogspot.com/http://www.myspace.com/4thehorses